Sakkari, Kasatkina, Kudermetova all to 2nd round in Abu Dhabi

Maria Sakkari, Daria Kasatkina and Veronika Kudermetova will all play in the 2nd round of the WTA 500 tournament in Abu Dhabi after quick first-round victories.

One of the Russians, Daria Kasatkina was first to step on the court as she faced Qiang Wang in the first match of the main draw in Abu Dhabi. Kasatkina won in 4 out of their 5 previous meetings and wanted to add another victory also in Abu Dhabi.

Although she needed 3 sets to do this, she got a quick victory in less than 2 hours as she defeated Wang 6-2, 3-6, and 6-2. Another Russian talent, Veronika Kudermetova took on the 10th seeded Anett Kontaveit in the second match.

It was again the Russian who prevailed in the match to take care of the first exit of the seeded player in Abu Dhabi after winning 7-5, 6-1. Another young Russian, Anastasia Potapova wanted to show a similar performance as Kudermetova to defeated the ninth-seeded Maria Sakkari.

However, the Greek player came well-prepared for the start of the season. She also played after the WTA Tour suspension last season and that might have been the time on the court that Potapova lacked. In the end, it was a quick 6-4, 6-2 victory for Sakkari.

The 2021 Abu Dhabi Open is full of exciting matches and you can follow the with TennisUpToDate Live Scores by clicking here!