Tennis News

DUBAI, UAE – No.7 seed Elina Svitolina took home her second title of 2017 – and the biggest one of her career – at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after defeating 2011 champion Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets.

Playing in her first Premier 5 final, Svitolina showed no sign of nerves as she outhit the former World No.1 to claim the victory 6-4, 6-2 after an hour and 10 minutes.

“It’s very special for me [to win such a big tournament],” Svitolina said in her on-court interview. “I’ve played very amazing tennis this week and I’m happy it happened in Dubai.

“It’s the first trophy for me at such a big tournament, so it’s very special for me.”

“I dreamed for all my life to be in the Top 10” -@ElinaSvitolina pic.twitter.com/T4CooJ6Nw3

— WTA (@WTA) February 25, 2017

With the title, Svitolina will rise from WTA No.13 to No.10, making her the 120^th player to make her Top 10 debut since the WTA Rankings were introduced on November 3, 1975.

“I’ve dreamed for all my life to be in Top 10. It’s a very amazing feeling to enter Top 10, and do it by winning the tournament! I’m very excited for the season and very excited I could win this tournament.”

The 22-year-old Ukrainian entered the matchup against Wozniacki with a 1-0 lead in the pair’s head-to-head record, with their only meeting coming last year in Miami where Svitolina came within two points of defeat before winning 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(1).

This time in Dubai, it was a more comprehensive affair, with Svitolina injecting pace into her groundstrokes to break down Wozniacki’s rock-solid defense.

.@ElinaSvitolina captures @DDFTennis Title!

Defeats Wozniacki 6-4, 6-2! pic.twitter.com/TA3LibF8zn

— WTA (@WTA) February 25, 2017

A pair of inch-perfect passing shots left Wozniacki wrong-footed and gave Svitolina the lone break in the first set at 3-2. But the Dane refused to fade away, batting away a pair of Svitolina set points at 5-4 with some bold tennis – including a second-serve ace – to force the Ukrainian to serve it out.

Wozniacki let three break points slip by that would have leveled the score, and instead Svitolina held serve from 0-40 down to take the opening set.

Svitolina continued her momentum into the final set; after trading breaks to start, Svitolina played more aggressive to chip away at Wozniacki’s defense as the Dane’s unforced error count continued to build. Svitolina rattled off the last five games in a row to close out the match and biggest title of her career.

“It’s been a good two weeks, @DDFTennis is a special tournament for me.” -@CaroWozniacki pic.twitter.com/xVVyG0fmXK

— WTA (@WTA) February 25, 2017

Despite the disappointing loss, Wozniacki is taking away positive signs from her Middle East fortnight, which saw her reach back-to-back finals.

“It’s been a good two weeks for me – two finals, lots of matches,” Wozniacki said in her on-court interview. “Making another final here [in Dubai] is definitely great, and I’m already excited to be back.”

Another piece of good news for Wozniacki? The Dane is inching closer to her return to the WTA Top 10: with her run to the final she’ll move to No.14, and is defending just 145 points until the US Open.

KEY INFORMATION:
Tournament Level: Premier
Prize Money: $776,878
Draw Size: 48 main draw (16 byes)/32 qualifying
Qualifying Dates: Saturday, June 18 – Sunday, June 19
First Day of Main Draw: Sunday, June 19
Singles Final: Saturday, June 25, 1pm GMT
Doubles Final: Sunday, June 25, after singles final

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

TOURNAMENT NOTES:
· Former champion Agnieszka Radwanska returning to tournament for the 10th time as top seed.
· Roberta Vinci is No.2 seed while defending champion Belinda Bencic is No.3 seed. Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is also in the draw, as are two of last year’s Wimbledon quarterfinalists, Timea Bacsinszky and Madison Keys.
· There have been nine different champions in the past nine years in Eastbourne. Six of the nine are in the field this year – Bencic (2015), Keys (2014), Elena Vesnina (2013), Ekaterina Makarova (2010), Caroline Wozniacki (2009) and Radwanska (2008).
· Click here to see the draw in full.

WILDCARDS:
Naomi Broady (GBR), Tara Moore (GBR)

EASTBOURNE, England – Caroline Wozniacki stepped up her Wimbledon preparations with a confidence-boosting win over Alizé Cornet at the Aegon International Eastbourne on Sunday.

Watch live action from Eastbourne this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Playing just her third match since March, Wozniacki showed few signs of rustiness, briskly pocketing the first set then coming from a break down in the second to complete a 6-1, 6-3 victory.

The Dane is currently ranked at No.35 in the rankings – her lowest position since May 2008 – after missing much of the season with an ankle injury. And after making her return in Nottingham last week she is refreshed eager to test her mettle ahead of the year’s second major.

“I feel confident on my feet, I’ve worked really hard to get into the best shape possible and do a lot of stability work, so now I’m feeling comfortable on my ankle and the grass,” Wozniacki said.

“It’s nice to be on a nice court with a great crowd and also to get another match in before Wimbledon. I’m just excited every time I go on court now.”

In the other three opening round matches there were wins for Jelena Ostapenko, Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic.

Ostapenko continued the good form that took her to the Birmingham quarterfinals by prevailing in her all-teenage battle with Daria Kasatkina, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Babos edged out Camila Giorgi, 6-4, 7-6(3), while Mladenovic prevailed in an equally close encounter with Yanina Wickmayer, 7-6(6), 6-4. 

The three-time Internazionali BNL D’Italia champion Maria Sharapova has received a wildcard entry into the main draw of the tournament in Rome this year.

The 29-year-old will attempt to reclaim the title she last won in 2015 as she continues her return to the WTA circuit. The tournament, which takes place from May 15-21, will be her third this year after she picked up wildcards for Stuttgart and Madrid this spring.

We officially announce the Wild Card for the 3 times Rome's Champion @MariaSharapova into the main draw of #ibi17! #tennis #WTA #Sharapova pic.twitter.com/bxrPrjI6fJ

— Internazionali Bnl (@InteBNLdItalia) March 1, 2017

Sharapova beat Spain’s Carla Suárez Navarro, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1, in the final on her last appearance two years ago, to win her most recent WTA title.