DUBAI – Madison Brengle got off to a good start in her quarterfinal match in Dubai on Thursday.
But the 25-year-old from Dover couldn’t keep it up, falling to Sara Errani, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, in the WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship.
Brengle trailed, 4-1, in the first set only to reel off five straight games to take the set.
Errani turned the tables in the third set, however, as she rallied from down 4-1 to take the set and the match.
“I don’t know, I just kept going and tried to play every point,” said Errani, a former top 10-ranked player. “Every game was really tough. It was not an easy score.
“It’s really difficult to play against her,” she said about Brengle. “She runs a lot, she goes really fast between points so you cannot rest. Sometimes she’s more aggressive and coming to the net and sometimes she’s waiting and does not miss one ball. You have to find your time.”
Brengle is ranked 60th in the world while Errani, a 28-year-old Italian, is ranked No. 22. Thursday’s match came less than 24 hours after Brengle knocked off No. 8 Petra Kvitova in the tourney’s second round.
Both Brengle’s two matches lasted over two hours. Brengle is 0-2 against Errani with both matches going three sets.
This is the first time that Brengle has played in the Dubai tournament.