Rybakina fights past Jabeur to reach Abu Dhabi semi-finals, Watson falls in doubles

Defending champion Elena Rybakina overcame a fierce challenge from Ons Jabeur to book her spot in the semi-finals of the Abu Dhabi Open, winning a dramatic 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4) encounter.

In a thrilling rematch of their 2022 Wimbledon final, world number five Rybakina made a flying start, breaking twice to claim the opening set in under 30 minutes. But Jabeur, a former world number two, fought back in the second, dictating play and forcing a decider.

The final set saw Rybakina squander two match points before recovering in the tie-break to clinch victory. She now faces Swiss wildcard Belinda Bencic, who defeated Marketa Vondrousova 7-5, 6-3.

Elsewhere, eighth seed Leylah Fernandez suffered a shock 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 defeat to world number 51 Ashlyn Krueger. In doubles action, Britain’s Heather Watson and Brazil’s Luisa Stefani fell in the quarter-finals to fourth seeds Zhang Shuai and Kristina Mladenovic, losing 5-7, 6-2, 10-3. Shuai and Mladenovic will now face Olivia Nicholls and her Australian partner Olivia Gadecki in the semi-finals.

Top seeds Jelena Ostapenko and Ellen Perez comfortably defeated Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez 6-4, 6-4, while Vondrousova and Laura Samsonova saw off Makoto Ninomiya and Ulrikke Eikeri 6-4, 6-1.

Meanwhile, Australian Open champion Madison Keys has withdrawn from the upcoming Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships due to a leg injury. She has not played since securing her first Grand Slam title by beating Aryna Sabalenka last month.