By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, February 24, 2017
Elina Svitolina scored her third straight win over Angelique Kerber, 6-3, 7-6 (3), to reach the Dubai final and close in on the Top 10.
Photo credit: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
Angelique Kerber gazed out onto the court and saw opportunity abound.
A trip to her first Dubai final and chance to inch closer toward regaining the world No. 1 ranking were all within the second-ranked German's reach.
Watch: Wozniacki Into Second Dubai Final
Ultimately, Elina Svitolina turned up the intensity in the tie break to continue her red-hot roll while moving closer to a career milestone.
Svitolina smacked five forehand winners in the tie break conquering Kerber for the third straight time, 6-3, 7-6 (3) to advance to her first Dubai final where she will face 2011 Dubai champion Caroline Wozniacki.
The match began as a physical grind and escalated into a test of concentration due to interruptions by a few brief showers and a medical time-out from Kerber, who played with taping beneath her right knee and appeared to be pained by a back issue.
Looking strained on serve, Kerber committed eight double faults and dropped serve seven times as Svitolina attacked the two-time Grand Slam champion’s second serve.
“It was really tough,” Svitolina told Annabel Croft afterward. “She obviously had the medical timeout and it was really tough also with the rain to stay really focused. “It was a very tricky match and hopefully it’s nothing serious with her knee and she gets better soon. It was really tough I was just trying to keep the ball going and move my legs and think really positive and fight for everything.”
Svitolina has been a number cruncher scoring her 11th consecutive victory.
It’s the second straight final for Svitolina, who won her fifth title in Taipei City earlier this month.
The world No. 13 could crack the Top 10 for the first time by defeating former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in tomorrow’s final. The 2011 champion swept Anastasija Sevastova, 6-3, 6-4.
After two points and a minute of play in the second semifinal, showers intensified and the players were escorted off the court.
Shortly after play resumed, Svitolina struck a backhand return right off the baseline breaking for 2-1.
Trying to drive her forehand down the line, Kerber scattered a couple of errors facing two more break points in the fifth game. She denied both, including bending a sharp-angled ace on the second, and eventually earning a hard-fought hold for 2-3.
Resetting after a visit from coach Torben Beltz, Kerber came out firing breaking back at 15 to level the set.
Both women were grunting with more vigor as Svitolina backed her increasingly passive opponent up to break again for 4-3.
When Kerber tried playing closer to the lines she missed the mark. Svitolina streamed through a love hold for 5-3.
Typically so proficient on short balls, a skittish Kerber slapped a short ball into net facing triple set point. A timid forehand into the middle of the net gave Svitolina a one-set lead after 38 minutes of play.
They traded breaks to open the second set as Kerber hit her sixth double fault dropping serve at love.
Moving cautiously and looking grim, Kerber struggled to keep the ball in play as Svitolina won 12 of 15 points breaking for 3-1.
Pacing deliberately between points, Kerber cracked a backhand return winner crosscourt then laced a forehand winner breaking for 2-3.
Then Kerber took a medical timeout for an apparent back injury. She returned to the court, but her serve was still MIA. A double faulted and strained forehand into the net saw Kerber donate another break at love.
Running down a generic drop shot, Svitolina swatted a backhand crosscourt then rifled her third ace holding for 5-2 after 68 minutes.
Kerber continued to scrap and challenge her opponent's second serve.
Staring down a break point as she served for the final, Svitolina ballooned a second double fault long to keep Kerber alive at 4-5.
Svitolina was two points from the final, but Kerber refused to yield. The US Open champion grinded through a tough hold then punished a forehand winner down the line. Her fourth consecutive game empowered the top seed to serve for the set.
Kerber could not close, netting a backhand as Svitolina broke back to force the tie break.
Credit Svitolina for striking some of her most aggressive forehands in the breaker. She opened with three forehand winners in the first four points then raced up to a net-cord to end a 20-shot rally ripping a forehand winner for 5-2.
Driving an ace wide for match point, Svitolina closed a one hour, 40-minute match with a jumping forehand winner looking like a woman poised to make a Top 10 leap.
In their lone prior meeting, Svitolina edged Wozniacki, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (1) in Miami last March.
"We played in Miami last year, it was very tough match, very late at night," Svitolina said. "So hopefully it's gonna be a good match. I’m sure I’ll give my best and fight and we’ll see how it goes."