The “Karate Kid” of the tour! A former high‑level karateka in her youth in Croatia, Antonia took up tennis quite late. She admitted she stayed in Dubai after losing in qualifying just “to enjoy the sun and do a bit of shopping,” before getting the miracle call as a lucky loser. She’s the first Croatian to reach this stage in Dubai in years. I’m even wondering if it isn’t some kind of record to be in the quarterfinals of a 1000 after losing in the first round of qualies!! To get to Svitolina, she beat:<ol><li data-list="bullet" class="ql-align-justify">Raducanu (ill, lung infection)</li><li data-list="bullet" class="ql-align-justify">Zakharova (completely off her game, should crush her 2–0 any day of the week)</li><li data-list="bullet" class="ql-align-justify">Rybakina (nausea, migraine, and almost no sleep at all)</li></ol> What can you say, she’s going to show up in full casino mode, all in on red!! And of course Svitolina will be playing black :) and no need to waste too much time here!