Former champion Simona Halep of Romania breezed to a 6-2, 6-4 win against American Alison Riske on Monday in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in the United Arab Emirates.
The unseeded Halep, who won the event in 2020, struck six aces and saved both break points she faced during a match that lasted one hour, 11 minutes. She improved to 4-0 against Riske.
No. 2 seed Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic was a 6-4, 7-6 (0) winner against France’s Carolina Garcia and No. 6 Iga Swiatek of Poland defeated Russia’s Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-2.
In other unseeded action, Jessica Pegula eliminated fellow American Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-4, and Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic smashed Italy’s Camila Giorgi 6-2, 6-0.
–Field Level Media
