Jabeur overcomes Ostapenko at Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open

Three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur overcame Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets (7-6 7-5) to reach the last 16 of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, while Emma Raducanu suffered a disappointing early exit at the hands of Marketa Vondrousova.

Elsewhere, Belinda Bencic, Leylah Fernandez, Magda Linette and Linda Noskova all progressed on day four of the tournament.

Jabeur faced Ostapenko in the day’s final match on Stadium Court, and it was a case of saving the best for last as the two players pushed each other all the way in a wonderful contest.

In truth, it was a match in which neither player deserved to lose, but Jabeur did enough to edge it, winning the first set via a tie-break before taking the second 7-5 to set up a last-16 clash with 17-year-old Wakana Sonobe on Wednesday.

In a meeting of Grand Slam champions, Raducanu began the match brightly and, having forced an early break of serve to go 3-1 up, appeared to be in the ascendancy. A double fault in the following game, however, set the tone for what followed as she struggled to recover, with Vondrousova winning five consecutive games to take the first set.

While Raducanu, at times, produced moments of brilliance, she was being hampered by a series of unforced errors. Both players had their moments in the second set, but it was Vondrousova, 2023 Wimbledon champion, who displayed greater consistency in her game.

At 5-3, Raducanu showed fantastic spirit by breaking her opponent, who was serving for the match, but it was indicative of her overall performance that in the following game, the Brit was on the opposite end of a break, meaning it’s Vondrousova who progresses to the last 16, and a meeting with Yulia Putintseva.

Bencic, winner of the inaugural Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open in 2023, made a triumphant return to Zayed Sports City as she overcame the challenge of Rebecca Sramkova in three sets.

Making her first appearance at the stadium since winning the competition, Bencic started the match in supremely confident fashion, dropping just two games as she took the first set comfortably.

Her early dominance was temporarily halted, however, as Sramkova produced a brilliant response to win the second and level the match up. With parity restored, those watching on inside Stadium Court would have expected a tight decisive set, but Bencic had other ideas, with the 2020 Olympic gold medallist totally overwhelming her opponent, running out 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 winner, setting up a last-16 meeting tomorrow against Veronika Kudermetova.