Ons Jabeur came through a tricky first-round clash against Jelena Ostapenko to seal her place in the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open last 16 on Tuesday.
The Tunisian was made to work by seventh seed Ostapenko at the International Tennis Centre in Zayed Sports City before sealing a 7-6, 7-5 victory.
Jabeur, who is still working her way back from an injury-plagued 2024, will now face 17-year-old Sonobe Wakana of Japan for a quarter-final spot.
The three-time Grand Slam finalist was knocked out in the third round of the season's opening Grand Slam in Australia last month, falling in three sets to Emma Navarro.
“Jelena is such a great player,” said crowd favourite Jabeur after beating the Latvian in one hour and 46 minutes.
“It's very tough to play her, so I tried to focus on myself and the crowd definitely helped, even though … I was really like trying to stay focused because if you lose a little bit here she can take advantage.
“I'm very happy with the level that I played in and definitely that I did not get frustrated in the right moments.”
Wildcard Sonobe came through qualifying to earn a place in a tour-level main draw for the first time, where she stunned Chinese world No 55 Yuan Yue of China 6-4, 6-3 on Monday.
Last month, Sonobe became the first Japanese player to win the Australian Open girls' singles title.
“I still can’t believe it,” she told the WTA on Tuesday. “I had never played a player ranked that high before, she’s a very good player, so I’m so happy.”
Belinda Bencic continued her tennis comeback by recovering from a mid-match wobble to ease past Rebecca Sramkova.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympic gold medallist came out on top 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 to set up a last-16 tie with lucky loser Veronika Kudermetova.
Bencic – who lifted the title in 2023 – took the opening set comfortably but went down tamely in the second before regaining her composure to seal victory and continue her successful return following maternity leave.
And with her priorities having changed, Bencic believes she is in a good place as she looks to kick-on in her career.
“To have a family has been really a blessing, spending every moment with our daughter,” she said in a post-match interview.
“It is super nice when she's here with us. We are managing travel as well with her.
“It's a different perspective on the court, though, obviously I still want to win, but it's different, even when you lose the match, it's not the end of the world. Tennis is not everything any more.”
Bencic, 27, made her comeback in competitive tennis towards the end of last year and reached the Australian Open fourth round in what was her first Grand Slam appearance since the birth of Bella.
After her victory in Abu Dhabi, the Swiss has now gone 8-3 for the year. “The comeback has been faster than we expected,” Bencic added. “Obviously, we did all the hard work late last season and also in the preseason. So, for sure it was not easy to be here right now.
“And we didn't rush, but also the comeback has been much earlier than we expected. So of course, very happy with how Australia went, but it doesn't mean that I can just relax now, but I have to continue the work.”
Bencic started well against her Slovakian opponent before appearing to lose concentration in the second but regained her composure and set up the clash with Kudermetova.
“I took some time to get used to the conditions and it's always like this in the first match of the tournament,” Bencic added.
“It is difficult but I'm happy with the result. I was very focused in the third set, and I was able to do the things that I didn't do well in the second set.”
In the battle of the former Grand Slam champions, Marketa Vondrousova eased past Emma Raducanu 6-3, 6-4 and will now tackle Kazakhstani Yulia Putintseva for a place in the last eight.
Vondrousova – who secured the 2023 Wimbledon crown after beating Ons Jabeur – proved too strong for 2021 US Open winner Raducanu, easing to victory in one hour and 35 minutes.
“It was a tough match,” Vondrousova said after beating her British opponent. “She was playing some great tennis and we were fighting every game. So, I'm very happy to be through and playing another match.
“It's a bit difficult to change from morning tennis to night tennis. Balls get heavier and you get used to it maybe in a couple of games. I think that's tough. But overall, everything is great. Courts are great. It's a great place for us to play.”
Canadian eighth seed Leylah Fernandez battled through to the next round after beating Moyuka Uchijima of Japan 7-6, 7-6 and will now face New Zealand's Lulu Sun.
Brief scores:
Kashima Antlers 0
River Plate 4
Zuculini 24', Martinez 73', 90 2', Borre 89' (pen)
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Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.
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Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.
Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.
The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.
