Kenin into Abu Dhabi round 3 after Flipkens injures ankle

Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin entered the third round of the Abu Dhabi Open after Kirsten Flipkens retired from the clash due to an ankle injury.

Sofia Kenin will either face Aryna Sabalenka or Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the Abu Dhabi Open.

Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin reached the third round of the Abu Dhabi Open on Friday after her opponent Kirsten Flipkens injured her ankle and had to retire.

Flipkens won the first set 7-5 and was 5-4 down in the second when she jumped to play a shot and landed heavily on her left ankle, which twisted underneath her.

Flipkens broke Kenin's serve five times in the first set, including breaking the American to love in consecutive service games to take the first set after Kenin had served for the set with a 5-4 lead.

 

Kenin plays either 13th-seeded Yulia Putintseva or Barbora Krejcikova in the third round.

Also, the 15th-seeded Ons Jabeur won 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 against Kateryna Bondarenko in their second-round match. Jabeur, an Australian Open quarterfinalist last year, will play either fourth-seeded Aryna Sabalenka or Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round.