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  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

DUBAI, UAE – No.7 seed Elina Svitolina conquered top seed Angelique Kerber for a third straight time – the second time in 2017 – to advance into the biggest final of her young career with a 6-3, 7-6(3) victory at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Svitolina kicked off the season by knocking out Kerber, then No.1, at the Brisbane International, but pulled off a hat trick of wins over the two-time Grand Slam champion on Friday, overcoming a rain delay and a late surge from an experienced – if slightly hampered – opponent to advance after one hour and 39 minutes of play.

“It was really tough,” she said during her on-court interview. “[Kerber] obviously had a medical timeout, so it was in and out all the time. The rain made it even tougher to stay focused, so it was a very tricky match. Hopefully Angelique has nothing serious with her knee and gets better soon.”

“It was a tough match,” Kerber said in press. “I don’t know what’s with my knee now, but I feel pain a little bit.

“I tried my best. This is how I am, and I’m always trying my best until the end.”

In control late in the second set, Svitolina saw her lead slip as Kerber won three straight games to serve for a decider. Digging in her heels, the Ukrainian youngster was riding a big wave of confidence – and an 11-match winning streak after taking home her fifth career title at the Taiwan Open – and broke back to roar though the ensuing tie-break.

“I was just trying to hit the ball, move my legs, think positively, and fight for every ball.”

Kerber was fighting to reclaim the No.1 ranking, needing to win the title to wrest the ranking from Serena Williams.

“I’m not thinking about this,” Kerber said. “I mean, everybody is writing or asking, but for me, I know how it feels to be No.1. I reach it once, and for sure I will try to get back there.

“But for me it’s really important to be healthy, and at the end, if I play consistent the next weeks or months, then we will see what’s happen then. Bfor the moment, I mean, I’m not looking about the number before my name, actually.”

Standing between Svitolina and the biggest title of her career is former World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, who reached her first final in Dubai since 2011 earlier in the day; Svitolina won their only previous meeting in three grueling sets.

“We played at the Miami Open last year; it was a very late match, and hopefully this next one will be good as well. I’ll give my best and we’ll see how it goes.”

A win in Saturday’s final would also guarantee her long-awaited ascension into the Top 10. 

“It was up and down for me, but towards the end of 2016 I had really consistent results, and I was really consistent with my game,” she said in her post-match press conference. “So I’m really happy that I’m more mature now with my game, and hopefully I will try to stay focused.

“Of course the first thing is it’s important to stay healthy, is the most important for an athlete. Hopefully it will be good, and I will stay – of course, there will be up-and-down, but the only thing matters is how you come back from the downs.”

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Siegemund Sets Up All-German Final

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

STUTTGART, Germany – The giant-slaying run continued for Germany’s Laura Siegemund; the qualifier took out World No.2 Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4, 6-2, to reach her first career WTA final at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

Watch live action from Stuttgart & Istanbul this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

The qualifier won her seventh match of the week – and her 14th straight set since coming to Stuttgart – and had all the answers against the top seed, who lost five games in a row from a 3-1 advantage in the opening set.

“Maybe I’m a similar type like her to other players,” Siegemund said after the match. “I didn’t focus on beating her with her own weapon or anything like that. I was focussing on my game which has been working well the whole week and didn’t find the switch to play aggressive that well. I was playing a little bit short at the beginning which gave her a lot of options but managed to fix the problem and found my game, a little bit later than the other matches but I found it.”

Serving at a stunning 90% off her first serve, Siegemund played a near-perfect match against Radwanska, hitting 34 winners to just 17 unforced errors – racing past the Pole’s own stats of 13 winners and 15 unforced. Converting a double break lead on her fifth break point opportunity of the fifth game of the second set, all looked clear for Siegemund when Radwanska enjoyed a brief resurgence, breaking back and making the veteran fight for the finish line.

“I felt like I’m in the flow and I don’t need to think, I’m going to make the right decisions. Sometimes you feel you’re not in the flow and then it’s good to have a good strategy every single point. But today I stood up of the break and I knew I had to trust my intuition and it worked well. Sometimes you get up from the bench differently. It’s very individual in that situation. But I was very focussed, I was very calm. If it was 5-5, I had a plan as well. So, I felt good.”

In the midst of a breakthrough season that has already seen her reach the third round of the Australian Open and quarterfinals of the Volvo Car Open, Siegemund dutifully broke serve one last time and served out her spot in the final after one hour and 23 minutes.

“My tennis was not good enough, that’s for sure today,” Radwanska told press after the match. “Well, I think with that kind of game she is playing, the first shot is very important. And she was playing pretty much all in and every time she got the ball I think she had nothing to lose, so she just took the risk.

“I can’t complain; I had a really good start of the year, a couple of good results as you said, a couple of semi-finals and so far so good. Well, I hope I can keep going that way.”

Siegemund defeated three Top 10 players this week – Simona Halep and Roberta Vinci in addition to Radwanska – and her stellar run could have major implications on the German Olympic team; tentatively up to a new career-high ranking just outside the Top 40, Siegemund has leapfrogged countrywomen Sabine Lisicki, Anna-Lena Friedsam, Julia Goerges, and Mona Barthel to become the No.4 German behind Angelique Kerber (who she plays in the Stuttgart final), Andrea Petkovic, and Annika Beck. Kerber and Siegemund will be meeting for the first time, but the reigning Australian Open champion will be keen to defend the title she won for the first time in 2015.

In doubles, co-No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza appear to have gotten their groove back; Santina had struggled through early exits in Indian Wells and Miami, but are back in their first final since winning the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy. Against Lisicki and Lucie Safarova, the reigning Wimbledon, US Open, and Australian Open champions made a solid case for completing the Santina Slam at the French Open with a 6-4, 7-5 win in the semifinals.

No.2 seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic won their first title of 2016 in Charleston, and got past former No.1 Kveta Peschke – who is playing her first tournament in over a year – and Anna-Lena Groenefeld in the second semifinal later on Saturday, 7-5, 5-7, 10-4. They will play Santina for a second straight title to bookend their Fed Cup heroics.

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