Abu Dhabi 2021: Friday's Order of Play and Match Points

ORDER OF PLAY

CENTRE COURT -- 10:00 a.m. start
[Q] Kateryna BONDARENKO (UKR) vs. [15] Ons JABEUR (TUN)
[1] Sofia KENIN (USA) vs. Kirsten FLIPKENS (BEL)
Not before 2:00 PM
[4] Aryna SABALENKA (BLR) vs. Ajla TOMLJANOVIC (AUS)
Bernarda PERA (USA) vs. Sara SORRIBES TORMO (ESP)
Alizé CORNET (FRA) vs. Paula BADOSA (ESP)

COURT 1 -- 10:00 a.m. start
[Q] Bianca TURATI (ITA) vs. Veronika KUDERMETOVA (RUS)
Not Before 11:00 AM 
Leylah FERNANDEZ (CAN) vs. Tamara ZIDANSEK (SLO)
Barbora KREJCIKOVA (CZE) vs. [13] Yulia PUTINTSEVA (KAZ)
After Suitable Rest
Karolina MUCHOVA (CZE) / Marketa VONDROUSOVA (CZE) vs. Kateryna BONDARENKO (UKR) / Nadiia KICHENOK (UKR)
After Suitable Rest
Maria SAKKARI (GRE) / Donna VEKIC (CRO) vs. Sofia KENIN (USA) / Ajla TOMLJANOVIC (AUS)

COURT 2 -- 10:00 a.m. start
[8] Hayley CARTER (USA) / Luisa STEFANI (BRA) vs. Elena RYBAKINA (KAZ) / Yaroslava SHVEDOVA (KAZ)
Not Before 11:00 AM
Ekaterina ALEXANDROVA (RUS) / Yana SIZIKOVA (RUS) vs. Jennifer BRADY (USA) / Garbiñe MUGURUZA (ESP)
Not Before 1:00 PM
Laura SIEGEMUND (GER) / Vera ZVONAREVA (RUS) vs. Darija JURAK (CRO) / Makoto NINOMIYA (JPN)
After Suitable Rest
Lucie HRADECKA (CZE) / Renata VORACOVA (CZE) vs. Veronika KUDERMETOVA (RUS) / Anastasia POTAPOVA (RUS)
After Suitable Rest
Oksana KALASHNIKOVA (GEO) / Sabrina SANTAMARIA (USA) vs. Arantxa RUS (NED) / Tamara ZIDANSEK (SLO)

MATCH POINTS

No.1 seed Sofia Kenin brings a 2-0 head-to-head record into her second-round meeting with Kirsten Flipkens at the Abu Dhabi WTA Women’s Tennis Open. Kenin has won both of their previous matches in straight sets: on hardcourt at 2019 Hobart, and on grass at 2019 Mallorca.

Kenin was named WTA Player of the Year for 2020, a season in which she won her first major title at the Australian Open, followed up with a second title of the year at Lyon, reached a second Grand Slam final at Roland Garros, and attained her current and career-high ranking of World No.4.

Top seed Kenin's win over Yang Zhaoxuan in Thursday's opening round makes her 9-0 in her last nine matches against qualifiers.

No.4 seed Aryna Sabalenka has triumphed in two of her three previous meetings with Ajla Tomljanovic, and they will face off again on Friday in Abu Dhabi. Sabalenka won their first two encounters in three sets, but Tomljanovic won their last clash in straight sets, at the 2019 Miami Open.

After ending the 2020 season by winning back-to-back titles at Ostrava and Linz, Sabalenka earned her 10th straight match-win when she defeated Polona Hercog in her opening match of 2021 in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

No.15 seed Ons Jabeur and qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko will square off for the first time. Jabeur became the first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam singles quarterfinal at last year's Australian Open, and Bondarenko also has a Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance in her ledger: the Ukrainian reached the last eight at the 2009 US Open.

Alizé Cornet will be meeting Paula Badosa for the second time in their careers. In their only prior meeting at the 2016 Mutua Madrid Open, Cornet received the win, due to Badosa's retirement at 2-2 in the deciding set. 

Veronika Kudermetova will face qualifier Bianca Turati in the second round. Kudermetova earned the first upset of a seeded player in this week's event when she knocked off No.10 seed Anett Kontaveit in the opening round. Kudermetova remains undefeated against Kontaveit, with her win on Wednesday being her third victory over the Estonian in three tries.