McCartney Kessler recorded her first victory over a Top 10 player on Tuesday, posting a 6-4, 7-5 victory over third-seeded Coco Gauff in the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Kessler earned her maiden win over a Top 20 player on Monday, securing a 6-2, 6-3 victory over fellow American Amanda Anisimova at the WTA 1000 tournament.
On Tuesday, Kessler saved five of the six break points she faced and broke the serve of the 2023 U.S. Open champion on three occasions to end the match in 89 minutes.
Kessler, who is ranked 54th in the world, advanced to face No. 14 seed Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic, who defeated 2021 U.S. Open winner Emma Raducanu of Great Britain 7-6 (6), 6-4.
The loss was the third in a row for Gauff.
Also on Tuesday, top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus snapped a two-match losing streak with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova,
Sabalenka outlasted both her opponent and the rain to end the match in 1 hour and 50 minutes. Tuesday’s victory came after she absorbed losses in the Australian Open final to Madison Keys and in her Doha opener against Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova.
“I’m really glad that I was able to play today, to win this match,” the three-time Grand Slam champion said. “I’m happy to be through this tough match against Veronika.”
Third-seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland, fourth-seeded and defending champion Jasmine Paolini of Italy and fifth-seeded Jessica Pegula each posted straight-set wins on Tuesday.
Swiatek breezed to a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, Paolini cruised to a 6-2, 7-5 win over Eva Lys of Germany and Pegula secured a 6-0, 6-4 triumph over Liudmila Samsonov of Russia.
Rain, however, caused the postponement of several matches to Wednesday.
Seventh-seeded and reigning Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen of China will challenge Peyton Stearns. The winner of that match later facing the victory of the contest pitting 12th-seeded Mirra Andreeva of Russia and 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic.
Eighth-seeded Emma Navarro will square off versus Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, while Sorana Cirstea of Romania will meet Alycia Parks. The winners of those matches also will face off against each other later on Wednesday.
–Field Level Media
