A bruised Iga Swiatek returns to the court at the Dubai Tennis Championships against veteran Victoria Azarenka days after being outplayed by Jelena Ostapenko in Doha.
Standing in her path in Tuesday's second-round match is Azarenka, who rolled back the years in her titanic comeback victory over Anhelina Kalinina in Monday's tournament opener to seal success after two hours and 52 minutes.
Match preview
Azarenka lost the first set against Kalinina 6-2 and was 5-2 down in the second, only to find ways to even the match by claiming the second set; however, she was not done, as highlighted by repeating the trick in the decider despite the Ukrainian being a point away on serve from opening a 4-0 advantage in set three.
The 35-year-old Belarusian then turned the screw and claimed six of the next seven games to secure the set 6-4 and seal an unforeseen 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 success over Kalinina, thus avoiding consecutive round-one defeats at the first two WTA 1000 events of 2025 after last week's early exit to eventual champion Amanda Anisimova.
Even more pleasing for the 21-time WTA champion was snapping her three-match losing run this season, having fallen to defeats against Marie Bouzkova in Brisbane, Lucia Bronzetti at the Australian Open and Anisimova in Qatar, including tournament-opening losses in Melbourne and Doha.
The 2010 runner-up's reward for claiming a ninth career win at the event is a fifth match-up with second seed Swiatek, whom she has not defeated since their first-ever tour encounter in 2020.
While the former world No. 1 takes on Swiatek fresh off a storming comeback success, her Polish opponent is unlikely to be as sloppy with a lead as Kalinina, highlighting the importance of a strong start against the 22-time WTA champion.
Swiatek's aim for a maiden title in Dubai begins four days after losing a fifth consecutive match against Ostapenko, who dropped just four games to blow the 23-year-old Pole away (6-3, 6-1).
That semi-final defeat snapped the Pole's 15-match winning streak at the Qatar Open and ended her bid for a historic four-peat at the event, and it will be interesting to observe if the after-effects of that disappointment are evident in Tuesday's match with Azarenka.
That unsuccessful push for a fourth crown in Doha continues the second seed's wait for a 23rd title overall, with last year's French Open success the last time she reigned supreme at any event.
Despite an extended absence of success, the 23-year-old holds a 12-3 record in 2025, advancing to the semis in Australia and the last four in Doha, pointing to continued consistency in dispatching most opponents.
Keen to go one better this year, the 2024 finalist and 2023 semi-finalist in Dubai aims to channel last week's Ostapenko disappointment into the second WTA 1000 tournament, where she seeks a maiden crown.
Tournament so far
Victoria Azarenka:
First round: vs. Anhelina Kalinina 2-6 7-6[4] 6-4
Iga Swiatek:
First round: Bye
Head To Head
Doha (2024) - Quarter-final: Swiatek 6-4 6-0
Rome (2022) - Round of 16: Swiatek 6-4 6-1
Adelaide (2022) - Quarter-final: Swiatek 6-3 2-6 6-1
US Open (2020) - Third round: Azarenka 6-4 6-2
Since defeating Swiatek at the 2020 US Open third round, Azarenka has won just one of the seven sets played against the Pole, underscoring the 23-year-old's dominance.
The 22-time WTA champion, who holds a 2-1 advantage in their hard-court match-ups, leads the overall head-to-head 3-1 heading into Tuesday's encounter, having secured consecutive straight-set wins over the veteran.
Although Azarenka has a career 81-89 win-loss record against top-10 players, her 4-4 record in the last year demonstrates the 35-year-old's competitive qualities against the highest-ranked players on tour despite her advanced years.
Nevertheless, two of said four triumphs were against Maria Sakkari in Rome and Berlin last year, while Elena Rybakina retired just four games into their quarter-final in the German capital; Azarenka fell in straight sets against Aryna Sabalenka in her most recent top-10 encounter.
We say: Swiatek to win in two sets
While the veteran secured an astounding comeback on Monday, Swiatek is backed to prove there is no residue from last week's defeat by Ostapenko to record a third consecutive straight-set success over Azarenka.
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