Bejlek, Eala win Dubai main-draw debuts

Abu Dhabi champion Sara Bejlek and crowd favourite Alexandra Eala both scored wins in their respective tournament debuts at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Sunday. 

Twenty-year-old Bejlek secured a 6-2, 6-2 win over Turkey's Zeynep Sonmez in 1 hour and 15 minutes to secure an eighth straight match in the Middle East this month.

"Mentally, it was a very tough match, so I'm happy with how I managed it and how I played tonight," Bejlek said in her on-court interview. "[Eight straight wins] sounds great! I'm very happy how I'm playing on the court, and how I'm feeling."

Earlier, World No. 40 Eala advanced to the second round when American Hailey Baptiste retired from their match with the Filipina ahead 6-4, 0-1. 

"No (one) likes advancing in this way, and being on tour, I'm really starting to discover at this level how difficult it is to maintain your health, so I really hope that Hailey is OK and will bounce back soon," Eala said afterwards. "I'm super happy to be in the next round. These tournaments are such great experiences for me... so I'm really doing my best to enjoy every moment I have on court." 

Earlier in the day, No. 13 seed Liudmila Samsonova was the first seed to officially fall after the pre-tournament withdrawal of No. 15 seed and Doha champion Karolina Muchova, as well as 2024 Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen. She led 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez by a set, but the Canadian rallied to win 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 -- dropping Samsonova to 0-5 in three-set matches this season.