Former world No.1 Kim Clijsters says there was much to be pleased about in her comeback match against Australian Open runner-up Garbine Muguruza.
The gallant Belgian matched the pace and intensity of the world No.16 before losing 6-2 7-6 (8-6) in Dubai on Monday.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Clijsters was making her first appearance on the WTA Tour since the 2012 US Open and the 36-year-old said she was looking forward to getting more matches under her belt.
“I had a good feeling out there,” she told reporters at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
“I do feel a little bit of, I’m not going to say relief, but a feeling of the pace I can handle.
“Obviously she’s probably not the hardest hitter out there. There’s some girls that hit the ball a lot harder. I felt like I was able to go toe-to-toe with her from the baseline.
“I felt like for a while I was dominating some of the points … the way I was able to get back into that second set, with the type of tennis I played, it’s something that is the positive. I’ll take that with me for the next matches.”
Muguruza, 26, said she was unsure of what to expect from Clijsters but thought she played well, particularly in the second set.
“I’m sure she’s going to get better and better, for sure give us a lot of trouble,” she added.
Clijsters served five double faults as she lost a 32-minute first set and when she went a break down in the second, it looked like being a short-lived first outing on her latest comeback.
But she levelled at 4-4 and saved two break points in the next game to eventually set up a tie-break.
However, the Spaniard had too much in the tank and took it 8-6 to advance to a last-16 clash with either Veronika Kudermetova or Dayana Yastremska.
Australian Open quarter-finalist Ons Jabeur continued her great form from Melbourne to Dubai, where she upset world No.18 Alison Riske to reach the second round.
The Tunisian, who is the highest-ranked Arab woman in history, and is the first Arab woman to make a grand slam quarter-final since 2004, overcame foot blisters to squeak past Riske 7-6 (7-3) 1-6 6-3 and set up a last-16 clash with top-seeded Romanian Simona Halep.
It was Riske’s first defeat to a player ranked outside the top five this season.
Earlier on Centre Court, 2016 finalist Barbora Strycova survived a wild opening round against American teen Amanda Anisimova, recovering from a 1-3 deficit in the decider to advance 7-6 (7-3) 2-6 6-4.
