Pavlyuchenkova, Jabeur Shine in Abu Dhabi; Potapova, Danilovic Dominate in Cluj-Napoca

Pavlyuchenkova, Jabeur, and Fernandez Shine in Abu Dhabi

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia dominated the first round of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, defeating American Sofia Kenin in a swift 6-3, 6-1 victory. Pavlyuchenkova's powerful serve proved crucial, winning an impressive 80% of her service points and never facing a break point.

Ons Jabeur of Tunisia also impressed, upsetting No. 7 seed Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 7-6 (4), 7-5. Jabeur capitalized on Ostapenko's eight double faults and converted 6 of 11 break points to secure the win.

Leylah Fernandez of Canada battled through a tough match against Japan's Moyuka Uchijima, ultimately prevailing 7-6 (3), 7-6 (0). Other first-round winners included Marketa Vondrousova and Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic, Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, and Poland's Magda Linette.

In Cluj-Napoca, Romania, top seeds Anastasia Potapova and Olga Danilovic both secured straight-sets victories. Potapova dominated her match against Austria's Julia Grabher, winning 6-4, 6-0. Danilovic saved 9 of 11 break points and converted 5 of 8 against American Alycia Parks to win 6-3, 6-3.

American Peyton Stearns rallied from a first-set deficit to defeat France's Varvara Gracheva 2-6, 6-2, 6-2. Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Russia upset No. 6 seed Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain in a thrilling three-set battle, lasting two hours and 53 minutes.

Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland also fought hard, edging out Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7) in a marathon match lasting three and a half hours. Other winners included Italian seventh seed Elisabetta Cocciaretto, fellow Italian Lucia Bronzetti, Russian Anna Blinkova, and Romania's Ana Bogdan.