Pliskova and Gauff advance at Dubai Duty Free Championships

Karolina Pliskova and Coco Gauff both advanced to the next round of the Dubai Duty Free Championships after victories in three sets.

Karolina Pliskova defeated Anastasija Sevastova 6-3 6-7(5) 6-2. It was an interesting match that took an unexpected turn late in the 2nd set. The start of the match saw Sevastova jump out to a 2-0 lead before Pliskova settled and pulled it back. In the end, she would add two more breaks to clinch it 6-3. She continued to roll in the 2nd set breaking Sevastova early and hold it easily until 5-4. At that scoreline, she served for the set but lost her serve and ultimately Sevastova managed to win the set in the tiebreak. Too many mistakes costed Pliskova late so when she calmed down in the 3rd set she rolled to a 6-2 finish with ease.

Joining her in the next round will be Coco Gauff who came back in stellar fashion to defeat Marketa Vondrousova 3-6 6-0 6-4. It was a stellar comeback from Gauff against a very good player who was rolling early in the match. The start of the match was completely dominated by Vondrousova who broke Gauff two times to take an early lead. That proved more than enough to clinch the opening set 6-3. In the 2nd set, she completely crumbled allowing Gauff to take over the set winning it 6-0.

The final set was a masterclass by Gauff who played her game not allowing Vondrousova anything. She remained calm even when she lost her serve and ultimately won the match in a stellar fashion. A spectacular comeback by the young American who recently mentioned she would like to celebrate her 17th birthday in Dubai by reaching the final. So far so good.