iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
Hamas' health ministry said that 94,616 people have been wounded since the conflict began on October 7
KT APPDOWNLOAD
Venus Williams retains Dubai title
DUBAI — On a pleasant Saturday evening at the Dubai Tennis Stadium, a champion rolled back the years. Venus Williams was at her mesmerising best as she beat emerging Belarusian Victoria Azarenka 6-3 7-5 in the final of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships.
It was the American’s second successive Dubai title. The 20-year-old Azarenka (world number 6) gave her all and yet she failed to match the stunning Venus. The 29-year-old American was simply in a league of her own.
Venus Williams of the US hares a laugh with Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, wife of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum,Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, as she holds her trophy after winning the WTA Dubai Tennis Championships on Saturday. Williams beat Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-3, 7-5 in the final.—KT Photo by Juidin Bernarrd
The seven-time Grand Slam winner played flawless tennis and her relentless attacks eventually forced Azarenka to make errors.
It wasn’t really a cake walk. But this one-sided affair left the pretty Belarusian with a broken heart.
“I am really pleased with the victory. And yeah, congratulations Victoria, you played well in second. It was a tough second set,” Venus said after her victory.
The world number five took home a prize-money of $383,000 while Azarenka received $180,000.
Earlier, Spain’s Maria Jose Martinez and Nuria Llagostera Vives won the doubles title, beating Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic and Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia 7-6 6-4 in the final.
In the first set, the 20-year-old Belarusian didn’t look intimidated even when Venus got her booming serves going. She played some incredible returns, forcing the American to change her tactics. Venus started coming to the net and played those crisp volleys. Her ploy eventually worked in the sixth game as Azarenka succumbed to the pressure and lost her serve.
Azarenka may have made a promising start, but Venus showed once again how the champions raise their game in matches like these.
The former world number one saved a break point in the ninth game and then won the set point.
Cross-court winners, volleys, passing shots, forehand winners, running backhands, you name it, Venus played them all. It was vintage Venus Williams.
After losing her serve yet again in the first game of the second set, Azarenka did manage to make life little difficult for Venus by breaking her in the fifth game. But the five-time Wimbledon champion maintained her composure and broke Azarenka again in the 11th game.
Venus then served for the championship. But the Belarusian refused to give up and returned almost every ball. Venus then hit one ‘lucky’ ground-stroke which somehow cleared the net and caught Azarenka on the wrong foot!
Brilliant Spaniards
Spain’s Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and Nuria Llagostera Vives staged a grand comeback to win the doubles final against all odds.
The Spaniards were trailing 2-5 at one stage against Peschke and Srebotnik.
But Maria and Nuria lifted their game, much to the delight of the Spanish fans at the stadium and remarkably forced a tiebreak, which they won rather convincingly.
In the second set, the Spaniards never lost confidence even after losing their serve in the seventh game. They hit back, breaking their rivals in the next and then held their serve.
Perhaps, the pressure became too much to handle for the Czech and the Slovenian as they failed to hold their serve to stay in the match and the championship.
“We were in big trouble in the first set, you know. We were 5-2 down in the first set. It’s not easy to come back from such a difficult position.
“But we did it. That’s because we never lost our focus. That helped us,” said a delighted Sanchez after the final match.
“It was a very good win for us, you know. It’s a very big event. We also won the title in Doha. So we have been playing really well.
“It helps that we are both from the same country. We want to keep on playing together for a long time. Hopefully, we will win the Grand Slams as well. That’s our main aim.”
Her partner, said: “We were really excited about playing the final. Opponents didn’t matter to us. We had good feelings because last match we played against Cara and Liezel. It was really tough, but we won.
“But we knew that today would be also very tough, even if it was not them, because these girls we know they play very good doubles. And really it was a tough match for us.”
The winners took home a prize-money of $100,000 while the runners-up received $50,000.
More news from
In most Islamic countries, including the Gulf countries, the Prophet's birthday is observed on 12 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1444
Traffic will be diverted to the opposite side during this period
The citizen was seen shooting the firearm through a car's window while being seated inside
During the visit, officials from both countries will explore opportunities to further strengthen cooperation in key economic sectors
Fritz outlasted Tiafoe in the semi-finals to take a big step towards ending his country's 21-year wait for a men's Grand Slam champion
The delegations called for additional border crossings to be opened, including the Aweil crossing from South Sudan
The traffic patrol responded within minutes, reaching the location and securing the area around the vehicle