Defending champion Elina Svitolina needed more than two hours to overcome Qiang Wang 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 Wednesday and reach the quarterfinals of the Dubai Championships. The top-seeded Svitolina had to save two break points in her first service game but then cruised through the rest of the opening set in 27 minutes. However, Wang broke in the 11th game of the second to level the match and Svitolina could clinch the win after 2 hours, 10 minutes. "I didn't expect it to go to a third, but I always try to expect the unexpected," Svitolina said. "I was a little bit angry at myself that I didn't bring my best game in the end of the second set.

Source: ABC News February 21, 2018 20:15 UTC