Aryna Sabalenka suffers shocking defeat against Donna Vekic in Dubai despite “tough” conditions for the Croatian WTA star

Donna Vekic causes a major upset as she takes down Australian Open winner Sabalenka in the first round.

Aryna Sabalenka suffers shocking defeat against Donna Vekic in Dubai despite “tough” conditions for the Croatian WTA star

Aryna Sabalenka and Donna Vekic (via Imago)

A huge turn of events as Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka suffered a major defeat at the Dubai Tennis Championships. She lost to the dangerous Donna Vekic despite the Croatian not being completely invested in the match. 

Sabalenka lost her winning streak to the Croatian as she suffered a first-round defeat. Despite taking the first set in the tie-break, the Belarusian lost control of the match and lost two back-to-back sets. Vekic, a familiar opponent to Sabalenka, gave a good fight. Even after taking the first set to a tiebreak, she came back to win the second set and close the match without dropping a game. 

YouTube video

She beat the World no.2 6(5)-7, 6-3,6-0 to advance to the next round of the tournament which she had considered as half a holiday. In the WTA Insider, the 27-year-old revealed to enter the tournament with a low mindset because of the quick change in conditions. 

FS Video

Vekic said to WTA:

I don't know. The conditions here are tough for me, but here I am.
Donna Vekic said

She reckons that it was too fast for her on this court and was sure to not last long. Before this, the Croatian did not have much success, with two first-round losses. However, a win against a top player is sure to give her more confidence as she gears up to face another strong hitter Sorana Cirstea.

Donna Vekic delivers a final set bagel to extend her win streak against Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka

Aryna Sabalenka faced a major upset at the Dubai Tennis Championships as she lost to the very talented Donna Vekic from a set-up. 

Aryna Sabalenka and Donna Vekic
Aryna Sabalenka and Donna Vekic (via Imago)

The Croatian made the most of her opportunity as she beat Sabalenka in great fashion. Not only did she come back from a set down, but Vekic closed out the match with a final set bagel. With this win, she extended her head-to-head wins against Sabalenka, making it 6-2.

The Croatian enters the final 16 of the tournament and gears up to face another big-hitter Sorana Cirstea, who is fresh off a win against Veronika Kudermetova. Vekic hopes to play the same way and try to run deep in the tournament. The tournament is going strong as other top players are yet to make it to the final 16. With a tight draw, there are opportunities for any player out there, making the tournament more exciting than ever. 

In Case You Missed It: