Victoria Azarenka needed three hours and four match points on Monday to claim only her second win of the season as the former No. 1 defeated Anhelina Kalinina 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4.

The first-round win in Dubai broke a three-match losing streak dating to Brisbane on January 2, with the two-time Australian Open winner also beaten in Melbourne at the Open and last month in Doha

The 35-year-old who paved the way for tennis mothers returning to action a decade ago, erased deficits in the second and third set after losing the opening to her Ukrainian opponent.

No. 30 Azarenka, who lost the Dubai final a decade and a half ago to Venus Williams at the Aviation Club, recovered from 3-1 down in the second set to win it and square the match.

She then did the same in the deciding third, fighting back from a double break down and breaking her 50th-ranked opponent’s last two serves to advance on her fourth chance.

“I guess my fighting spirit really helped me to pull through,” Azarenka said.

“I had to find the way to get a little bit of consistency, play better, find the rhythm and execute properly.

“But it was a bit rough out there.”

The former Grand Slam champion admitted she is going through a difficult spell.

“I’ve been really struggling to find just my game at all.

“It feels just like my legs become heavy. I feel like I’m not making right decisions, even though in practice I play good sets.

“Today at least it’s a good thing that I was able to really compete. I would say that’s what saved me today.”

Azarenka is looking for her first title since 2020 Cincinnati; 20 of her 21 career trophies have come on hardcourts.

She will become the first opponent of the week for second seed Iga Swiatek, who has won the last three of their four career meetings. 

In other opening results, only 48 hours after winning the Doha title, Amanda Anisimova was ushered out in Dubai, losing 6-2, -3 to American McCarthy Kessler.  

Nick Kyrgios was quick to slam  Jannik Sinner settling with the WADA to  avoid going to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne on 16-17 April.

Last September, the WADA appealed the ITIA’s ruling that the Italian “bore no responsibility for a failed doping test that was caused by the negligence of his former physio Giacomo Naldi”

WADA’s declared aim was to get Sinner a suspension in the range of one to two years. 

But this morning WADA announced that Sinner and his team had reached a settlement with them and accepted a three-month ban, which started on February 9th and will conclude on May 4th.

Kyrgios has been the most vocal critic of the Italian World No.1’s doping case and had called for the 23-year-old to get “a proper sanction” and quickly responded  to the news on his Social Media account.

“So WADA come out and say it would be a 1-2 year ban. Obviously Sinner’s team have done everything in their power to just go ahead and take a 3 month ban, no titles lost, no prize money lost. Guilty or not? Sad day for tennis. Fairness in tennis does not exist.

He later  added “So he was found guilty – hence the ban. But didn’t get stripped of anything and can play the French. Sad sad sad day.”

Even Sky Sports pundit and Tennis statesman Tim Henman was quick to react saying “It leaves a sour taste for the Sport”

“Even though I never thought for a moment that he (Sinner) sought to gain any advantage, it seems a bit too convenient”

After extending this summer’ s event to 15 days, the US Open has moved to take a tighter grip on box office takings by announcing a sweeping reform of mixed doubles at the tournament.

The “orphan” event of the four majors will be given a spotlight of sorts – but all matches will be held the week before the actual event at Flushing Meadows, turning the major into a marathon slog for some players.

Open officials don’t see it that way, with Tuesday’s PR release trumpeting the benefits of competing for what organisers tout as a USD 1 million prize for the winning team.

But the trade off comes in scheduling, with the event done and dusted before main draw play even begins.

The trend is the latest breakthrough in over-reach as the Grand Slams scramble for the fan dollar, with qualifying weeks now considered a part of the event. 

It follows on from the controversial ATP re-make of the Masters 1000 schedule, with summer events like Canada and Cincinnati overlapping each other and attempting to stage oddball mid-week finals for a sport accustomed to settling affairs on a Sunday.

All Masters events save the hybrid Monte Carlo week will now stretch to nearly two weeks, a move which has top players reconsidering their playing schedules.

USO officials patted themselves on the back in a release for their “innovation,” inspired by convincing broadcaster ESPN to at least stage the semis and finals on a main cable channel.

“We’ll be scheduling mixed doubles on the center stage and enabling more fans worldwide to enjoy the thrill of watching their favorite stars compete for this coveted Grand Slam Championship title,” said USO boss Lew Sherr.

“One of the primary reasons the US Open is among the premier sports events in the world is because it features the best athletes, both male and female, competing on an equal stage.”

The event will be played in a dumbed-down form, with a 16-team draw including half of the field made up of wild card entries.

Play will be best-of-three-set matches with short sets to four games, no-ad scoring, tiebreakers at four-all and a 10-point match tiebreak in lieu of a third set.

The final will be a best-of-three set match to six games, featuring no-ad scoring, with tiebreakers at six-all and a 10-point match tiebreaker in lieu of a third set.

Main photo:- Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori celebrate winning 2024 US Open Mixed doubles title by ATP Tour.com