Revenge is a dish best served in Dubai. Clara Tauson stunned world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 6-2 in the third round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Wednesday, exacting revenge for a third-round loss to Sabalenka just over a month ago at the Australian Open.
Tauson scored just her second career Top 10 win in a one-sided romp, which also puts her through to a WTA 1000 quarterfinal for the first time in her career. Tauson’s only prior Top 10 victory came against then-No. 7 Anett Kontaveit at the 2022 Australian Open, and the 22-year-old had been 0-2 against top-ranked players in her career previously.
But the Dane dominated, largely, throughout the one-hour and 23-minute match to hand Sabalenka her third straight defeat on tour this year.
She out-served the top seed with seven aces, and also broke Sabalenka’s serve six times. After falling behind by a break to start the second set, Tauson ripped off four consecutive games, and though Sabalenka saved six break points for 6-3, 5-1 to stop the run, Tauson wouldn’t be denied two games later.
