"Hopefully I can do better here" - Sabalenka remains positive after awful Dubai outing

Aryna Sabalenka will try and wash away the disappointment from last week in Dubai where she dropped out of the event fairly early.

Her opponent was Petra Kvitova who generally performs superbly in the Gulf but it was still disappointing for Sabalenka who historically plays some of her best in the Gulf as well. She is a former Qatar Open champion and he will hope to secure a deep run once more. Speaking ahead of the event she said:

"I’m really happy to be here. It’s an amazing tournament. I have a lot of good memories from here. I like the conditions (smiling). It suits my game well. Yeah, I like it. It’s a really strong tournament here. Every match is a battle here."

Touching upon Dubai she admitted feeling very disappointed about the result but she is hopeful she can do better here:

“(Dubai) was (a) tough week. I would say I didn’t perform my best, but I gave everything I had. I felt like things are slowly getting back. I’m working hard and hopefully, I can do better here."