FANTASTIC FRIDAY ON THE CARDS
Dubai couldn’t have dreamed of a better Friday. Garbine Muguruza and Angelique Kerber, arguably the two best players in the women’s game after the peerless Serena Williams, recorded straight-set wins on Thursday to book their places in the semifinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
But defending champion Elina Svitolina was the first player to storm into the last-four stage with a very impressive performance. The Ukrainian beat rising Japanese star Naomi Osaka in straight sets (6-2 6-4) in the first quarterfinal of the day.
“I had couple of tough matches against her in the past. I had to be ready for her to come back,” Svitolina said after her win. “The match that we played in Tokyo I was up again. It was, like, little bit frustrating for me to lose that match. So I had to be ready for her to raise her level.
“So I just stayed in the moment. I was fighting, waiting for my opportunity, trying to earn opportunities. She then gave me the chance and I took it. This was the key.” Svitolina, the 23-yearold Ukrainian with the deadly forehand, is hoping to become only the third player after the legendary Justine Henin and Venus Williams to defend the Dubai title.
But it’s unlikely to be an easy task for her as Kerber, her next opponent, is no more the erratic player Svitolina faced in last year’s semifinal.
The sixth seeded Kerber was too good for the third seeded Karolina Pliskova on Thursday, winning their quarterfinal match 6-4 6-3 in 74 minutes.
This was Kerber’s fifth win over the Czech player in their last six clashes.
“Yes, I think I was playing quite good today. Especially I served well. I think that was at the end the key for the match,” the twotime Grand Slam champion told reporters after her victory.
“I know what to expect, all that. She hit the ball really hard, serving good. I was trying to play good returns back. So I was basically focused on playing my own game,” the former world number one added.
Muguruza faced the toughest challenge on Thursday evening after having finished her round of 16 clash against American teenager Cici Bellis at 1:51 in the morning.
But the Wimbledon champion showed no signs of fatigue as she beat fifth seeded Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia 7-5 6-2 in 108 minutes.
“You know, I was a little bit upset because, you can play late, but it was very late (last night). I ended up sleeping at 4am,” Muguruza said after her quarterfinal win. “Today I somehow fought with a little bit of the tiredness yesterday. That’s it. One day is going to go my way, one day is going to go against me.
“But today, I think it was a very good match, especially the first set. I felt much better in this match than the match we played in Doha.
“It’s always difficult because we played almost in the same week twice. When you play a top-10 player, and you beat her second time in a row, it gives you a good sign that what I’m doing is right.”
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com