Defending champion Elena Rybakina advanced to the semi-finals of the Abu Dhabi Open with a thrilling 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4) win over Ons Jabeur. The match was a repeat of the 2022 Wimbledon final, where Rybakina triumphed, and she made a strong start, breaking Jabeur twice to take the first set in under 30 minutes. However, Jabeur fought back in the second set to level the match, setting up a tense decider.
In the final set, Rybakina had two match points but was unable to convert, leading to a tie-break. The world number five remained resilient, coming from behind to win the tie-break and seal her spot in the semi-finals, where she will face Swiss wildcard Belinda Bencic. Bencic reached this stage after defeating Marketa Vondrousova 7-5, 6-3 in her quarter-final.
In other results, eighth seed Leylah Fernandez suffered a surprising 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 defeat to world number 51 Ashlyn Krueger. In the women’s doubles, Britain's Heather Watson and Brazil's Luisa Stefani were eliminated by fourth seeds Zhang Shuai and Kristina Mladenovic, who won 5-7, 6-2, 10-3. Zhang and Mladenovic will now face Olivia Nicholls and Australian Olivia Gadecki in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, top seeds Jelena Ostapenko and Ellen Perez progressed to the semi-finals with a straightforward 6-4, 6-4 victory over Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez. Marketa Vondrousova and Laura Samsonova also advanced after defeating Makoto Ninomiya and Ulrikke Eikeri 6-4, 6-1. In other news, Australian Open champion Madison Keys has withdrawn from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships due to a leg injury and will miss the tournament starting on February 16.
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