Svitolina has a fight on her hand to make Dubai history

From left: Caroline Wozniacki, Eugenie Bouchard, Petra Kvitova with Colm McLoughlin at the draw.

Elina Svitolina, who enthralled Dubai with that gorgeous forehand in her back-to-back Dubai triumphs, will leave no stone unturned in her attempt to become the first woman to win three straight Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title.
Only Justine Henin and Venus Williams - two of the greatest players in the history of the game - have won back-to-back Dubai titles.
Now as the 27th edition of the award-winning tournament starts with the women's week on Sunday, the 24-year-old Svitolina stands on the cusp of going where no one has set foot in the past.
But she has to do it the hard way, having found herself in same half of the draw as the world number one Naomi Osaka and two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza.
Svitolina, the world number seven who gets a first round bye, could face world number 12 Muguruza in the third round.
If she beats the feisty Spaniard, she could set up a dream semifinal with the 21-year-old Osaka, winner of the back-to-back Grand Slam titles in the 2018 US Open and the Australian Open last month.
Meanwhile, crowd favourite Caroline Wozniacki, a Dubai winner in 2011, faces a tough first round game against former US Open champion Samantha Stosur.
The 34-year-old Australian who has entered the Dubai tournament on a wild card could give Wozniacki a run for her money.
Wozniacki also has Simona Halep and 2016 Dubai champion Sara Errani on her half of the draw. Another former Dubai champion, Petra Kvitova, also faces a tough challenge. The 28-year-old Czech, a two-time Wimbledon champion who reached the Australian Open final last month, has a first round bye, but could meet the dangerous Russian Daria Kasatkina in the next round.
The 21-year-old Kasatkina, who reached the Dubai final last year, is one of the brightest young players on the Tour.
And former world number one Karolina Pliskova, who reached the Dubai final in 2015, could face three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals.
"We are delighted that so many wonderful players will yet again be competing at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships," said Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free.
"With nearly everyone from the top 30 challenging for the trophy there is no doubt that the competition will be just as intriguing as it was at the recent Australian Open and it will be just as difficult trying to predict who will emerge as our 2019 champion."
Tournament Director Salah Tahlak expects to see top quality tennis in the women's week.
"There are many tough matches ahead for so many of the players who have earned top honours both here in Dubai and at the very highest level, the Grand Slams," he said.
"That is a reflection of the incredible field that will be competing over the next week, with even the most successful competitors facing no certainty of success here. It is going to be fascinating to see who manages to emerge as the winner next Saturday."
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com