Radwanska Battles Past Qualifier

© Dubai Duty Free Tennis ChampionshipsAgnieszka Radwanska came back from the brink to defeat qualifier Aleksandra Wozniak.

Agnieszka Radwanska edged into the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday with a 6-1, 6-7, 7-5 defeat of qualifier Aleksandra Wozniak.

The number five seed swept the opening five games of the match and won 65 per cent of the points to take the opening set in just 27 minutes.

But Wozniak, who is attempting to re-establish herself on the WTA Tour after suffering an arm injury that dropped her out of the Top 100, began to compete far better and took her favoured opponent to the verge of defeat.

She twice made Radwanska play catch-up in the second set, breaking to lead 2-0 and 4-2, but Radwanska levelled each time and then broke Wozniak again to leave her serving for the match.

But Wozniak still refused to capitulate, broke Radwanska’s serve, and went on to take the tie-break on her third set point.

In the final set, Wozniak broke to lead 3-2 but she then also failed to serve out the match at 5-4, allowing Radwanska to level at 5-5, hold for 6-5 and break once again for victory.

"The first match is always the toughest. Different conditions, different court, and different balls," said Radwanska after her two-hour, 32-minute victory. "I think she was just running very good and moving very well and being very consistent in the second and third sets. I'm just very happy that I could come back in the third set and win."

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There was disappointment for Dominika Cibulkova but delight for qualifier Iveta Benesova, when a pulled hamstring forced Cibulkova to retire from their match with Benesova leading 3-1.

"It is disappointing that Dominika Cibulkova was unable to finish her match," said tournament director Salah Tahlak. "She is always an exciting player to watch and has been in good form recently, winning her first career title just a few months ago in Moscow. We wish her a speedy recovery."

Maria Kirilenko was also forced to withdraw from her doubles partnership with Sabine Lisicki after suffering an acute neck injury. She will receive treatment in the hope that she will be able to play her second-round match against Ana Ivanovic or seventh seed Francesca Schiavone on Wednesday.

The WTA Tour event continues until February 25th and features World No. 1 and Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka, US Open winner Samantha Stosur, Dubai defending champion Caroline Wozniacki and recent Doha semi-finalist Marion Bartoli.

Play then continues on February 27th with the ATP World Tour tournament featuring eight of the world’s Top 10, including reigning Dubai, Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, four-time winner Roger Federer, sensational Scot Andy Murray, charismatic Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, recent Montpellier winner Tomas Berdych and American No. 1 Mardy Fish.

The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free and held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Tickets for the event are available from the Box Office at the Dubai Tennis Stadium, Garhoud which opens from 9am to 9pm daily. Grandstand tickets can also be bought online at http://www.timeouttickets.com/. For further information about tickets, prices and tournaments visit http://www.dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com/ or phone the call centre on +971 4 358 9797.