Aryna Sabalenka battles past Marta Kostyuk in Dubai

Aryna Sabalenka overcame early struggles to defeat Marta Kostyuk securing the 2nd round of the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Sabalenka committed four double faults in the first game she served and she lost that game. It gave Kostyuke an early 2-0 lead and it seemed like Sabalenka would be in a lot of trouble against the inspired Kostyuk. However, the Belarussian was able to compose herself in time and start playing much better.

That yielded some results and Sabalenka was able to battle back from a 2-4 deficit to eventually turn around the score and take the 5-4 lead. She then won the opening set with 6-4. She committed 8 double faults in total in the first set but settled nicely in the 2nd set.

There weren't any double fault issues for Sabalenka in the 2nd set as her serve proved to be rather good. It allowed her to keep Kostyuk away from too many breakpoints. The Ukrainian still had 3 overall but the Belarussian saved all of them.

Sabalenka took an early 3-1 lead and from there cruised to a comfortable 6-1 finish. The Belarussian was able to shake off the initial rust yet her double faults returned once more. It was a big concern in Australia and it seemed like the issues have not yet been resolved.