Ekaterina Makarova strolled to a comfortable straight set win over Zhu Lin, setting up a blockbuster meeting with Dominika Cibulkova in the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Taking the early lead in both sets, Makarova never really looked back from then on as she took the victory in just over one hour.

Makarova takes the first set

Zhu seemed on course for a positive start to the match as she went up 40-15 in the opening game of the match, looking to hold serve. However, Makarova rattled off four straight points to get the early service break and got off to the best possible start.

Having some rustiness on her serve in her opening service game, Makarova faced some troubles but still managed to hold onto her service game and extend her lead to two games.

The Chinese finally got herself onto the scoreboard, as she came from 15-30 down to get the encouraging hold and lessen the deficit. As the match progressed, both players became more solid on their serves after both Makarova and Zhu failed to find a breakthrough in any of the following games, making a service break look far from our sights.

Zhu Lin had a bad day at the office today | Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images AsiaPac
Zhu Lin had a bad day at the office today | Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images AsiaPac

Finally, a break point opportunity came our way as the higher-ranked Russian earned the golden chance to extend her lead at 4-2. Nevertheless, Zhu maintained her composure to save the break point with an excellent backhand cross-court winner which was not anticipated by Makarova, eventually holding her serve to keep the scoreline close.

Eventually, Zhu once again held a 40-15 lead while serving to stay in the set, similar to the opening game of the match, but failed to hold onto the lead as Makarova steered to a first set victory after 32 minutes.

Ekaterina Makarova in action today | Photo: Tom Dulat/Getty Images Europe
Ekaterina Makarova in action today | Photo: Tom Dulat/Getty Images Europe

Makarova carries the momentum into the second set

Makarova had a tough start to the second set as she faced some troubles in the opening game, eventually holding her serve to 30 and getting a positive start to the set. With the confidence and momentum running in her, the Russian broke serve in the next game as she opened up a 2-0 advantage to lead by a set and a break.

Makarova then affirmed her lead at 3-0, consolidating the break with a comfortable service hold. Zhu finally got herself onto the scoreboard when she got an encouraging hold of service, trailing 1-3 on the scoreboard. This did not seem to affect Makarova as she followed it up with an easy service hold of her own, regaining a three-game lead.

Zhu Lin was part of the WTA Rising Stars tournament line-up in 2015 | Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images AsiaPac
Zhu Lin was part of the WTA Rising Stars tournament line-up in 2015 | Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images AsiaPac

Zhu looked further away from a huge upset when her serve was broken for the fourth time in the match to gift Makarova a 5-1 lead and a chance to serve out the match. Showing some nerves while serving out the match, the former top 10 player allowed Zhu to earn her first break point of the match at the last stage of the match, threatening to get one of the breaks back.

Ekaterina Makarova celebrates the win | Photo: Tom Dulat/Getty Images Europe
Ekaterina Makarova celebrates the win | Photo: Tom Dulat/Getty Images Europe

Nevertheless, with the experience and her lefty serve coming to her rescue, Makarova saved a total of three break points and eventually closed out the match in straight sets after just 63 minutes.

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About the author
Don Han
Don Han is a young tennis writer who aspires to be a full-time sports journalist in the future, supporting Russian players along the way.