TENNIS in DEPTH.

Australian Open finalist Li Na was the day’s only major casualty, the fifth seed crashing out 6-7 (6/8) 7-6 (8/6) 6-2 in a two-hour-and-28-minute loss to Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer.

Caroline Wozniacki rode her luck to edge closer to regaining the world number one ranking at the Dubai Duty Free Championships after a dramatic end to her second-round match with Anna Chakvetadze. Chakvetadze was serving for the second set at 5-3 and 15-15 when she appeared to faint on court, leading to urgent medical attention and the Russian’s enforced retirement from the game. It later emerged Chakvetadze had been suffering gastro-intestinal problems this week and Wozniacki admitted: “It was a shock and scary. I just saw her suddenly collapse on court and I really didn’t know what happened.”

Wozniacki had looked set to cruise through to the next stage after winning the first set 6-1 but a catalogue of errors from the Dane allowed Chakvetadze to control the second set before her abrupt departure.

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