Four Top 10 players were in action on Tuesday as the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships came to a close. Sara Errani and Petra Kvitova were among the winners.

A quarter of Top 10 stars took Centre Court on Tuesday as the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships wrapped up, with Sara Errani and Petra Kvitova among the winners.

There were no breaks in the first nine games of the third set and that pattern looked like it was going to continue as Georges built a 40-0 lead serving 4-5; but Errani fought off five game points in that game and eventually broke to seal a hard-fought victory. The No.5-seeded Errani was the first to advance, absorbing 10 aces and pouncing at the very last minute to beat Julia Georges, 63 46 64.

“She was playing the ball very strong – maybe I’ve never seen somebody hitting that strong on the forehand,” Errani said afterwards. “She was also serving strong and the court is fast, so it wasn’t easy. I just tried to defend, tried to play my game, make as few unforced errors as possible and try to put the ball back when I could – it was a tough challenge, but of course I’m very happy I could win.”

The No.6-seeded Kvitova didn’t have as much trouble in her match, holding all seven service games and breaking five times to beat Daniela Hantuchova, 62 61. Kvitova is now 6-0 against the Slovak.

“I’m not a person who looks at the score – it seems very quick and very easy, but some games were very close,” Kvitova said. “But it was a good match from my side. I’m happy with how I played.”

Earlier, No.1 seed Victoria Azarenka announced her withdrawal from the event due to a foot injury.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucpMe0KRsDs&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

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