Ukraine's Tsurenko managed just a single point over the last three games as former No. 1 Halep demonstrated her superiority by taking a 7-0 lead in their head-to-head record
Petra Kvitova, Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova
Former winners Petra Kvitova and Simona Halep battled through brisk desert winds to advance into the quarter-finals of the Dubai Championships yesterday.
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Second seed Kvitova outlasted American qualifier Jennifer Brady 7-5, 1-6, 6-3. Crowd favourite and third seed Halep coped with the gusty conditions the Aviation Club as she beat Lesia Tsurenko 6-3, 7-5, breaking seven times.
Ukraine's Tsurenko managed just a single point over the last three games as former No. 1 Halep demonstrated her superiority by taking a 7-0 lead in their head-to-head record.
Fourth-seeded Karolina Pliskova was tested by Alison Riske, with the Czech taking more than two hours to produce a 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/5) victory. The 2015 finalist won a monster game late in the second set, holding for 5-5 after seven deuces plus two set points for her American opponent.
Pliskova broke a game later but dropped serve herself to force a tie-breaker; the decider ended on a first match point after Riske double-faulted. Fifth seed Angelique Kerber, a semi-finalist on her last two appearances here, lost to Hsieh Su-Wei 5-7, 6-4, 6-0.
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