"The conditions here doesn't fit me well at all": Aryna Sabalenka left lamenting poor display on tennis return in Dubai after shock Vekic exit

Aryna Sabalenka suffered a tough defeat against world No. 31 Donna Vekic, losing 7-6(5), 3-6, 0-6 at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. This marked her return to the court after securing her second title at the Australian Open. The Belarusian won only one of the last 13 games of the match and expressed disappointment with her performance in the Middle East tournament.

The current world No. 2 revealed that she didn't feel comfortable during her brief stint in the tournament: "I feel like the conditions here don't fit me well at all. It's really tricky for me to compete here in Dubai. A really tricky court for me," she explained.

Sabalenka made several double faults at crucial points in the match, and despite being ahead 2-0 in the second set, unforced errors crept in just as Vekic raised her level: "I would say that the whole match I was leading, I was winning. I won the first set. I was up with a break. I didn't feel like I was up. The level was so bad today from me. I would say that she also didn't play her best.

“Like at the end she kind of step in and start playing way aggressively, way more aggressive 'cause she saw that I'm not playing my best at all. I think that's why she came back from that score that easy because, like, it was just like who's more lucky, you know? The level wasn't there at all,” former world No. 1 added.

"She won a lot of matches against me. But all of the matches were close. I wouldn't say that she's really super tricky opponent for me. She's tough to play. She's a great fighter. She's a great player. Serving well. Playing well. It's not like because she's really tricky to play against."

Aryna Sabalenka's next challenge will be at Indian Wells, where she will be the second seed of the tournament. As for Vekic, she will face Romanian Sorana Cirstea (No. 22), who defeated the 13th seed Veronika Kudermetova (No. 19).