Defending champion and top-seeded Simona Halep of Romania was ousted by Ana Ivanovic of Serbia 7-6(2) 6-2 at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Wednesday.
The third-ranked Halep had a set point when serving at 5-4 for the first set, but netted a backhand to squander the opportunity.
The 17th-ranked Ivanovic broke Halep’s serve in the first game of the second set to reach the Dubai quarterfinals for the fourth time in her career.
With Halep’s defeat followed by losses to Garbine Muguruza and Petra Kvitova, not one seed remains in the Dubai draw.
All eight seeds lost their opening matches.
Kvitova fell 0-6 7-6(1) 6-3 to Madison Brengle while Muguruza was banished by Elina Svitolina in straight sets.
.@DDFTennis Top Seeds
(1) Halep?
(2) Muguruza?
(3) Suarez Navarro?
(4) Kvitova?
(5) Bencic?
(6) Pliskova?
(7) Vinci?
(8) Kuznetsova?— WTA (@WTA) February 17, 2016
France’s Caroline Garcia upset Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 4-6 6-4 6-3 earlier on Wednesday.
Garcia was four points from victory at 5-3 15-15 in the third set when a hailstorm swept the area, suspending play for 3 hours, 39 minutes.
Garcia ate and slept during the delay and closed out the match when they returned.
“I stay positive all the match,” said Garcia. “It works well. Very happy to finish it.”
Barbora Strycova of Czech Republic trailed by a set and a break before defeating Julia Goerges of Germany 2-6 6-3 6-1 to advance to the quarterfinals.
“I can’t believe how slow I started, but I’m happy that I got the win,” Strycova said. “I wasn’t feeling well at the beginning but I pulled though in my head. It was tough.”
19 February 2016
Roberta Vinci appeared on Italian TV and was put to the test - were the grunts she was hea... More
8 June 2016
Transitioning between surfaces can be one of the biggest challenges in the game. Understan... More
14 August 2017
Maria Sharapova has opened up in her memoir Unstoppable, revealing her take on how Serena ... More
20 July 2016
The decline is as perplexing as it is constant. When did Grigor Dimitrov hit rock bottom? ... More