“Conditions here do not fit me at all” – Sabalenka after early loss in Dubai

It wasn’t a long layoff after winning a second major title that caused Aryna Sabalenka to struggle in her first match against Donna Vekic. But there was a reason: the conditions.

Sabalenka, who fell to 2-6 lifetime against Vekic with her 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-0 loss on Tuesday, says that she had plenty of time to rest and recuperate after her dazzling run to the title in Melbourne.

But she never could get used to the fast-playing conditions on the hard courts of Dubai.

“I wouldn’t say that it’s difficult because of my Australian Open win,” Sabalenka said. “I had enough time to rest, recharge and start everything over again.

“I feel like the conditions here do not fit me well at all. It’s really tricky for me to be here in Dubai. It’s a tricky court for me.”

Sabalenka still put herself in position to earn her second consecutive win over Vekic, leading by a set and a break at 7-6, 2-0. Sabalenka even had a break point for a double-break lead in set two, but the wheels quickly fell off as the world No 31 took charge and won 12 of the final 13 games to claim the victory.

“The whole match I was leading, I was winning. I won the first set. I was up with break. I didn’t feel like I was up. The level was so bad today from me,” Sabalenka said.

“She also didn’t play her best. At the end, she stepped in and started playing aggressively because she saw I’m not playing my best at all. That’s why she came back from that score that easy, because it was just like… who’s more lucky?”

Sabalenka drops to 8-7 lifetime at Dubai, where she is a three-time quarter-finalist but has never gone deeper in the draw.

Vekic meanwhile, reaches the round of 16 for the first time, after earning her first career win in Dubai in the first round over Wang Xinyu (6-2, 6-4).

“To be honest, I wasn’t really thinking… These big leads don’t mean nothing anymore,” she said. “You just focus and play each game as if it’s the last.”

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