DUBAI, Feb 21 — Iga Swiatek survived a gruelling affair against Sloane Stephens while Aryna Sabalenka blamed unfavourable conditions for her second round defeat to Donna Vekic in Dubai yesterday.

The top-seeded Swiatek, who clinched her third consecutive Doha title on Saturday and had a first round bye in this event, had to dig deep to overcome former US Open champion Stephens 6-4, 6-4 in a tug of war that witnessed eight breaks of serve and a combined 23 break points.