Desert Queen: Venus Defends Dubai
Venus Williams ruled the desert again.
A dominant Williams did not drop a set to become the second woman in history to defend the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships.
Williams smacked seven aces and won 80 percent of her first-serve points in sweeping Victoria Azarenka, 6-3, 7-5 in today’s final.
The third-seeded American joins Justine Henin as the second woman to successfully defend Dubai.
“It was definitely very competitive,” said Williams. “I expected her to come out and play very well. Of course, I respect her game. Just the effort that she gives into it. Even though I was leading in the second set, she just never gave up. So she played really well. Obviously happy to close the tournament out.”
It is the 42nd career singles title for Williams, who is one ahead of Justine Henin at the top of the list of titles won by active players, and just one behind Martina Hingis, who is 10th on the Open Era list with 43 titles.
The 29-year-old Williams did not drop a set in capturing the championship. She has now won 10 consecutive matches in Dubai.
Williams gained the first two break points of the match at 3-2. Azarenka hit a second serve that was ruled good, but Williams challenged the call. Hawk-Eye replay showed the serve landed long and Williams had the break and a 4-2 lead.
Serving for the set, Williams dumped two of the three double faults she hit in the match, but dug her way out of the dilemma to take the opening set.
“Obviously, my serve is a big advantage for me,” Williams said. “I think I get a lot of balls back. That helps! I think off the ground she’s very strong and consistent, but I think I’m probably a little stronger than her, so that helps me to control the point. I think she does everything well, but there’s a few things, obviously the strength that helps me.”
Azarenka, who beat Serena Williams to win the Sony Ericsson Open title in Miami last April, dropped serve to open the second set. The Belarusian came back to break for 3-3. The second set stayed on serve until it was 5-all in the second set when Williams blasted a forehand winner to break for 6-5. She closed out the 90-minute match in the next game to run her record to 9-1 on the season.
“It’s not about power. It’s more about precision that she was making it on the lines close to the lines,” said Azarenka, who dropped to 3-5 in career finals. “There was more about that. Venus came off with some big shots, and, you know, I think overall the game was really good. Very high quality of tennis from both of us. Just, you know, a little bit of bad luck on a few balls. But I’m proud of what I did today.”
Topics: Aces, Balls, Barclays, Belarusian, Break Points, Desert Queen, Dilemma, Double Faults, Dubai, Dubai Tennis Championships, Hawk, Hawk Eye, Justine Henin, Martina Hingis, Match, Replay, Second Serve, Serena Williams, Sony Ericsson, Venus, Venus Williams, Victoria Azarenka
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