\n
\n\tDUBAI: Ons Jabeur let a lead slip and grimaced in pain as she crashed out of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Monday night, falling in the first round to American Peyton Stearns 6-7(6), 4-6 in front of a vocal Centre Court crowd.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Tunisian, a former world No. 2 who became the first Arab to reach a Grand Slam final at Wimbledon three years ago, had been forced to miss the past two editions of the Dubai tournament through injury.<\/p>\n
\n\tYet she was determined to be a part of this year\u2019s lineup, which marks the landmark 25th anniversary of the women\u2019s event in the emirate.<\/p>\n
\n\tEnjoying strong support inside the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium with a series of Tunisian flags dotted among the crowd, the three-time Grand Slam finalist raced into the lead, breaking Stearns in the American\u2019s first service game.<\/p>\n
\n\tYet she was unable to capitalize and allowed her opponent \u2014 ranked 14 places below her at No. 46 \u2014 back into the tie after serving a double fault on a break point in the fourth game.<\/p>\n
\n\tJabeur even managed to break again and found herself serving for the first set, but failed to close it out, and throwing her racquet on the ground in anger.<\/p>\n
\n\tDuring a tight tie-break, another double fault saw Jabeur hand Stearns the momentum at 5-6 and the American went on to convert her first set point to claim the opener.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cPeyton is a really good player,\u201d Jabeur said. \u201cWe practice a lot together, more last year and the year before, but yeah, she\u2019s a tough opponent.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cShe has a lot to improve for sure, but I see her in a much better ranking than this. I wish her all the best for the future. She handled moments very well during the match and hope she can make it very far.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tJabeur is a resident of Dubai and was one of the most popular players in a field stacked with 36 of the top 40 women this week.<\/p>\n
\n\tUnderstandably then, despite calling a medical timeout to assess her left thigh, she was keen to battle on, saving three break points in the opening exchanges of the second set.<\/p>\n
\n\tIt was not enough though and despite showing the fight for which she has become renowned, her service was broken in the third game and Stearns held on to complete a straight sets win.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt was pretty tough today,\u201d admitted Jabeur, who arrived in Dubai after quarterfinal runs in both Abu Dhabi and Doha in the past fortnight.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI wasn\u2019t 100 percent, obviously. I didn\u2019t think I had enough time to recover from both tournaments, but I was there, trying my best. I didn\u2019t want to just retire. I wanted to try more and see how it went.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tOn her thigh issue, she added: \u201cIt\u2019s nothing really serious. I just wasn\u2019t feeling 100 percent physically. I feel I\u2019ve been tired; I haven\u2019t been sleeping as well as I was hoping to be sleeping.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt was difficult to really recover from Abu Dhabi, Doha, and now to come here. I felt it was like a long tour for me. I was hoping to really play good here, but unfortunately it wasn\u2019t the case.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tFor her part, Stearns \u2014 making only her second appearance in the emirate \u2014 stood up to the challenge when it mattered most to claim an 11th career win against a top-50 player.<\/p>\n
\n\tShe faces another tough test on Tuesday against No. 7 seed Zheng Qinwen of China.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI\u2019m super happy with myself that I stayed in the match,\u201d said Stearns. \u201cI fought hard, dug deep, and all that good stuff. Ons is a great player and also a great person. It\u2019s never fun playing those kind of people, but I knew I would need to play well against her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tEarlier in the day, No. 13 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia was eliminated by Anastasia Potapova 3-6, 0-6 before No. 10 seed Daria Kasatkina also lost 1-6, 6-4 to Romanian wildcard Sorana Cirstea.<\/p>\n
\n\tJelena Ostapenko \u2014 the winner here in 2022 \u2014 also slipped out in the first round, with Japanese qualifier Moyuka Uchijima claiming a memorable 6-3, 6-3 win.<\/p>\n
\n\tTuesday will have the eight top seeds get their Dubai 2025 campaigns underway, with all four of the world\u2019s leading players in action on Centre Court.<\/p>\n
\n\tReigning Dubai champion Jasmine Paolini meets German qualifier Eva Lys in the day\u2019s first match, before world No. 2 Iga Swiatek faces Victoria Azarenka, and No. 3 seed Coco Gauff takes on fellow American McCartney Kessler.<\/p>\n
\n\tWorld No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will be in the last match of the day, when she meets 2022 finalist Veronika Kudermetova.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe 25th edition of the annual WTA 1000 event is running until Feb. 22, before the 33rd staging of Dubai\u2019s ATP Tour 500 tournament from Feb. 24 to March 1.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
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