Back injury forces Anett Kontaveit out of Abu Dhabi tournament im round two
Anett Kontaveit had to pull out of her round two encounter at the WTA500 Abu Dhabi WTA Women's Tennis Open in the third set, handing US player Shelby Rogers a forfeit victory.
Kontaveit took a medical break in set three, citing lower back issues, briefly returning to the court for two more games before retiring.
The Estonian, ranked 18th in the world, had already needed to take a similar break in her round one victory over China's Shuai Zhang on Monday.
She and Rogers, ranked 46th in the world, had last met in Rogers in the Australian Open in 2019, when the American player emerged victorious.
In set one, Kontaveit, seeded seventh in the tournament, started strongly and was soon 4:2 up, though Rogers mounted a comeback to take things to 4:4. However, winning her service, then breaking Rogers then holding her own serve again was enough for Kontaveit to take set one, 6:4.
In set two, Rogers was more dominant as Kontaveit failed to convert a break point when she was 3:2 down. The U.S. player ultimately took the set 6:3.
The deciding set saw Rogers take a 3:0 lead in games, immediately ahead of Kontaveit's medical break. While the Estonian won one more game, she conceded at 4:1 down.
The entire encounter in the UAE lasted an hour-and-three-quarters.
Rogers will face Swiss player Belinda Bencic, ranked ninth in the world, in the quarter finals.
Ahead of the Abu Dhabi tournament, Kontaveit had planned to remain in the region for the following WTA competitions in Doha, Qatar, and Dubai, UAE.
--
Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!
Editor: Andrew Whyte, Henrik Laever
