Antonia Ružić has recently shared her thoughts after advancing to the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, following the first seed, Elena Rybakina, who retired in their round of 16 match due to gastrointestinal issues. The Croatian World No. 67 has entered the WTA 1000 tournament as a lucky loser after the event faced multiple withdrawals.
Antonia Ružić on Reaching Quarterfinals After Rybakina Retires
Ružić lost in the first qualifying round to Rebeka Sramkova, then had the chance to compete as a lucky loser due to multiple withdrawals. She came back to dominate, surpassing World No. 25 Emma Raducanu in the round of 64, then defeating Anastasia Zakharova in the round of 32. In the round of 16, she was set to clash against Rybakina.
The Russian-Kazakhstani star at the Qatar Open lost in the quarterfinals to Victoria Mboko and then competed in the Dubai Tennis Championships. In the round of 32, she defeated Kimberly Birrell in straight sets, then faced Ružić in the next round. She played two sets, winning the first, losing the second, and unfortunately retiring in the third due to health issues, with the match ending 7-5, 4-6, 0-1.
After the match, Ružić reflected on her well-wishes for Rybakina and the situation, which turned out to be favourable for her, adding via WTA’s Instagram post, “First of all, I hope Elena gets well soon. Not the way I wanted to win this match today. Of course, I’m seeing her more in the future. Yes, first time as a lucky loser. You gotta take your second chance and I’m here taking it. I’m going to the quarter, so I’m happy how I played today.”
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Considering her journey in Dubai, Ružić reflected on how she was able to advance to her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal, a twist of fate, expressing, “It was actually a crazy story that I got in as a lucky loser because I lost the first round of qualification. I stayed here because of the doubles because we were first alternate and then they said like sign in because maybe you would get in. Sometimes you have to take the second chances.”
She continued, “A lot of girls had amazing runs from the lucky losers because you get a second chance so you have nothing to lose anymore. You can just show your best tennis. I’m happy with how I played today.”
Apart from her singles category, she also participated in the doubles category with World No. 69 Petra Marčinko, another lucky loser at the tournament, and lost the round of 32 to Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva. In her quarterfinal round, Ružić is set to face World No. 9 Elina Svitolina.
