The first half of second-round action completed at the Abu Dhabi WTA Women’s Tennis Open on Friday. It was a successful day for favorites at this WTA 500 event and photographer Jimmie48 was on the courts from start to finish.
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Playing Abu Dhabi on a career-high ranking of No.31, Ons Jabeur of Tunisia faced no break points in the second and third sets to overcome Ukrainian qualifier Kateryna Bondarenko 5-7 6-3 6-2, firing a total of 11 aces in the match. With daughter Eva supporting her from the stands, Bondarenko converted two out of ten break points in the first set.
The 15th-seeded Jabeur has now reached the third round or better in seven of the last eight tournaments she’s played.
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Beautiful blue courts, palm trees and the skills of our Jimmie48. This is our photo of the day. Veronika Kudermetova defeated Bianca Turati 6-2 6-1.
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This is Sofia Kenin warming up for her today’s second-round match against Kirsten Flipkens. Another stunning photo with palm trees. The orange colors of Fila’s Mad for Plaid collection look great in the sunny Abu Dhabi setting.
The top-seeded American advanced this Friday, but it was not a pleasant victory, as her opponent Kirsten Flipkens suffered a left ankle injury during the second set and had to retire at 5-7 5-4.
![](https://womenstennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Kirsten_Flipkens_-_Abu_Dhabi_International_Tennis_Complex_-DSC_8397_original.jpg)
Fourth seed Aryna Sabalenka defeated Ajla Tomljanovic 7-5 6-4 in Friday’s second-round match and recorded her eleventh straight victory that includes back-to-back titles in the end of 2020.
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Yulia Putintseva defeated Barbora Krejcikova 6-4 7-5.
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Late in the day, Alize Cornet couldn’t handle Paula Badosa‘s outstanding performance and lost 6-4 6-4.
![](https://womenstennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Alize_Cornet_-_Abu_Dhabi_International_Tennis_Complex_-DSC_9725_original.jpg)
I’m also adding these nice black-and-white warm-up photos.
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![](https://womenstennisblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Donna_Vekic_-_Abu_Dhabi_International_Tennis_Complex_-DSC_9108_original.jpg)
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