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Match Details
Fixture: (8) Emma Navarro vs (PR) Belinda Bencic
Date: February 18, 2025
Tournament: Dubai Tennis Championships 2025
Round: Second Round (Round of 32)
Venue: Aviation Club Tennis Centre, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $3,654,963
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN, TVA
Emma Navarro vs Belinda Bencic preview
Following a first-round bye, eighth seed Emma Navarro will face Belinda Bencic in the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships 2025.
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Navarro started the season with a loss to Kimberly Birrell in Brisbane, and extended her losing streak to four matches having lost her last three matches of the 2024 season. She beat Ekaterina Alexandrova in Adelaide to finally score a much-needed win, and then lost to Liudmila Samsonova.
Navarro arrived at the Australian Open having won only one of her last six matches. However, she still managed to reach the quarterfinals with consecutive three-set wins over Peyton Stearns, Wang Xiyu, Ons Jabeur, and Daria Kasatkina. Her run came to an end with a 6-1, 6-2 loss to Iga Swiatek. She received a bye into the second round at last week's Qatar Open, and went down to Leylah Fernandez in straight sets.
Bencic commenced her comeback post maternity leave towards the end of last year by competing at the Challenger level. She returned to the WTA Tour at this year's United Cup, where she won one of her two singles ties. She reached the second round in Adelaide as a qualifier, and advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Buoyed by her run in Melbourne, Bencic went on a tear at the Abu Dhabi Open, and captured the first title of her comeback, and her first in two years. She scored wins over the likes of Marketa Vondrousova and Elena Rybakina en route to the title. She commenced her run in Dubai with an easy 6-0, 6-2 win over Aoi Ito.
Emma Navarro vs Belinda Bencic head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head currently stands at 0-0.
Emma Navarro vs Belinda Bencic odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Emma Navarro vs Belinda Bencic prediction
Navarro has been in shaky form ever since losing to Aryna Sabalenka at last year's US Open. While she did reach the quarterfinals of the season's first Major, her form was far from convincing and she was tested every step of the way before being outclassed by Swiatek.
Navarro's Middle East swing also commenced with a lopsided loss to Fernandez in Doha last week. She now has a 5-4 record for the season. Bencic, on the other hand, has improved rapidly with every tournament. She gave the Qatar Open a miss after her triumph at the Abu Dhabi Open, and extended her unbeaten run to six matches after winning her opener in Dubai.
Bencic has a 11-3 record this year, and has gone 2-2 against top 20 players. She will be expected to trounce Navarro given how each of them are playing at the moment.
Pick: Belinda Bencic to win in straight sets.
