Sania-Barbora out of Dubai semis, Wozniacki enters final
India’s Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova of Czech Republic fought hard but failed to overcome the challenge posed by Russian duo Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova in Dubai on Friday. The thirdseeded Indo-Czech pair lost 4-6 3-6 to the second-seeded Russians in the semis of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in 76 minutes.
After losing the first set, Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova were down 0-5 in the second and there were fears of them receiving a bagel. However, they pulled up their socks and won three games in a row before the Russians found their winning rhythm to seal a straight-sets victory and make the final.
Meanwhile, Caroline Wozniacki reached her second final in two weeks by beating Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 6-3, 6-4 at the Dubai Open.
Wozniacki plays top-seeded Angelique Kerber or seventhseeded Elina Svitolina in the final on Saturday. She has a losing record against both potential finalists: Kerber leads 8-5, while Svitolina leads 1-0.
Nursing an aching right shoulder injury, Novak Djokovic planned to return to tennis at Indian Wells in the California desert. But the Serbian star changed his mind and accepted a wild card to play in the Acapulco tournament that starts Monday. Djokovic required treatment in the shoulder after a four-set Davis Cup win over Russia’s Daniil Medvedev.