Tennis News

DUBAI, UAE – Caroline Garcia booked the first spot into the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships semifinals after a dominant win against Andrea Petkovic, 6-3, 6-4.

Into her career first Premier-level semifinal, 22-year-old Garcia continued turning promise into achievements as she took on the No.28 Petkovic, who had defeated her in both of her previous encounters.

“It was very difficult conditions, very windy,” Garcia said afterwards. “It’s never easy to play in these conditions so you have to be focused.

“I played pretty aggressive today but you have to against [Petkovic] – she’s a big fighter.”

Garcia broke early in the opening set to go up 3-1, staying toe-to-toe with the big hitting German. Petkovic’s serve, which had been ailing all match long, misfired at the worst time, producing three double faults to give Garcia set points before sending a forehand long to hand the French player the first set.

Garcia once again broke serve and consolidated quickly to start the second set with a 2-0 lead, but this time Petkovic fired back to stop the bleeding, breaking back and holding to level it out at 2-2. Garcia, a regular feature in the doubles draw, was deadly at the net and with her forehand, closing out the match at 6-4.

Petkovic’s second gave her plenty of trouble – she hit 10 double faults during the match – and Garcia masterfully exploited the weakness.

“That’s one where I was looking to improve, to put the pressure on my opponent, especially on her second serve,” Garcia said after the match. “She did some double faults so I tried to put a bit more pressure for those free points.”

In the second quarterfinal of the afternoon, Sara Errani came back from a set to down to defeat the resurgent Madison Brengle, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

More to come…

KEY INFORMATION:
Tournament Level: Premier 5
Prize Money: $2,517,250
Draw Size: 56 main draw (8 byes)/32 qualifying
Qualifying Dates: Friday, February 19 – Saturday, February 20
First Day of Main Draw: Sunday, February 21
Singles Final: Saturday, February 27, NB 6.00pm AST
Doubles Final: Saturday, February 27, 3.30pm AST

MUST FOLLOW SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS:
@WTA
@WTA_Insider – WTA Insider, Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen
@QatarTennis – official tournament handle
Get involved in conversations with the official hashtags, #QatarTotalOpen and #WTA.

TOURNAMENT NOTES:
· Defending champion Lucie Safarova returns to action after missing the start of the season with a bacterial infection.
· The only other former winner in the draw is Simona Halep, who triumphed in 2014. Former finalists Svetlana Kuznetsova (2004, 2007), Caroline Wozniacki (2011) and Angelique Kerber (2014) have also made the trip to Qatar.
· Dubai finalists, Sara Errani and Barbora Strycova, have both entered Doha. The only players to have completed the Dubai-Doha double are Justine Henin (2007) and Martina Hingis (2001).
· For the complete draw click here.

WILDCARDS:
Eugenie Bouchard (CAN), Fatma Al Nabhani (OMA), Cagla Buyukakcay (TUR)

WITHDRAWALS:
Serena Williams (flu), Maria Sharapova (left forearm), Peng Shuai (right hand), Irina-Camelia Begu (right knee), Camila Giorgi (right knee), Alizé Cornet (low back), Mona Barthel (illness)

It’s another milestone week for the WTA with Serena Williams hitting 157 consecutive weeks at No.1, passing Martina Navratilova for the second-longest streak at No.1 in WTA history.

Williams’ streak began in 2013 after defeating Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Total Open; the American hadn’t been ranked No.1 in over two years after a foot injury and pulmonary embolism left her very career in question. Overcoming incredible adversity, a near-perfect 2012 season the the stage for the now-21-time Grand Slam champion to take back No.1 from Victoria Azarenka just over three years ago; she hasn’t reliquished the top spot since.

During this latest reign at No.1, Williams has won six major titles at all four Grand Slam tournaments – including two French and US Open titles – and remains one major victory away from tying Steffi Graff, who not only holds the Open Era record at 22 Grand Slam titles, but also has the longest streak for consecutive weeks at No.1 (186 weeks).