Top seeds in title frame as Dubai Tennis Championships enter quarter-finals

DUBAI: The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships’ top three seeds remain in contention for WTA1000 glory after successfully navigating their respective routes into Thursday’s quarter-finals.

Top seed Iga Swiatek, the World No. 1, breezed into the last eight with an emphatic 6-1, 6-0 victory over 14th seed Liudmila Samsanova on a sun-drenched Center Court at Dubai Tennis Stadium. Swiatek, who is looking to secure consecutive WTA wins after triumphing in Doha last week, overran Samsonova in only 76 minutes. The comprehensive victory means Swiatek has lost only eight games in her last 10 sets.

Even more ominously for the Pole’s rivals in Dubai, Swiatek received a surprise walkover into Friday’s semifinals after her scheduled last eight opponent, Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, withdrew from the tournament late on Wednesday evening with a viral illness.

“I’m just trying to be really solid and focused on every point. I’m happy it’s working. I realized in Australia that my mindset wasn’t great, I was stressed with the season starting and being world No. 1, so I’m starting from the beginning with a clean page,” said Swiatek, the current French Open and US Open champion.

World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, the Australian Open champion, joins Swiatek in the quarterfinals after defeating reigning Dubai champion Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 2-6, 6-1, 6-1.

“Jelena played unbelievable tennis in the first set — I couldn’t do anything. I turned the game around somehow and started playing incredible tennis. I’m super happy with the win and I just want to keep focusing on my game, and keep winning,” said Sabalenka, whose unbeaten run now stands at 13 consecutive matches. The tournament’s second seed will face the Czech Republic’s