Latest news with #DubaiDutyFreeChampionships
Gulf Today
11-04-2025
- Sport
- Gulf Today
Emerging tennis star Saida aims to fly UAE flag high at global events
Nasser Al Marzooqi, Secretary-General of the UAE Tennis Federation, has endorsed national team player Saida Ismail as an exceptional young talent with a bright future in the years ahead. He praised the 14-year-old player for winning a notable number of local and international titles, stating that she represents a project that supports the discovery of new tennis talents in the future. For her part, Saida revealed her ambition to participate in prestigious tournaments such as the Dubai Duty Free Championships, Mubadala World Tennis Championship, and Al Habtoor tournament in the near future. She hopes to achieve strong results that will allow her to raise the UAE flag on international stages. She also aims to actively take part in international youth tournaments organized annually by the UAE Tennis Federation in collaboration with the International Tennis Federation, held in venues across Dubai and Fujairah, with the participation of top players from around the world. The young prodigy, who possesses outstanding technical and mental skills, affirmed her aspiration to represent UAE tennis in the best possible way. She expressed her joy at the possibility of future success by winning more titles and continuing to bring laurels for the country, just as she has already done in many tournaments. She extended her gratitude to the UAE Tennis Federation for supporting her dreams and providing valuable opportunities that help her develop her technical abilities and achieve more victories. Saida also expressed her happiness with the excellent results she has achieved in her age group, including top finishes in many tournaments. Notably, she claimed first place at the European Tennis Championship in Switzerland, the Banja Luka tournament in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as tournaments in Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, and Qatar. Additionally, she secured second or third place in many other events. She confirmed that her future goal is to participate in the most prestigious global tournaments.
Reuters
20-02-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Andreeva dumps Swiatek in straight sets to march into Dubai semis
Feb 20 (Reuters) - An inspired Mirra Andreeva beat world number two Iga Swiatek for the first time in her career with a dominant 6-3 6-3 victory as the Russian 17-year-old moved into the semi-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Championships on Thursday. With her victory, 12th seed Andreeva moved into the first WTA 1000 semi-final of her career while Swiatek became another top seed to exit the tournament after world number one Aryna Sabalenka was knocked out on Wednesday. Andreeva is also the youngest semi-finalist in Dubai since the tournament was first held in 2001 -- a significant improvement from her last visit when she was knocked out in the first round last year. "Honestly, I was really nervous before the match and we played in Cincinnati last year (where Swiatek won their quarter-final match) and it was pretty intense," Andreeva said. "So I just told myself that I played great and I just need to continue to play aggressive and go for my shots. It was also not easy with all the fans (supporting her) but I think we were even. I had a lot of people supporting me. Andreeva found herself on the ropes early as she struggled to hold serve in her first service game of the opening set but eventually held on to make it 1-1. Andreeva then broke Swiatek and continued to impress, covering the court well while also reading Swiatek's shots to set up winners and the Russian broke the world number two once more, firing a forehand return down the line on set point. The 17-year-old found herself trailing 3-1 in the second set but corrected course after a quick chat with her coach -- former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez -- to win five games in a row. The determined teenager broke Swiatek in the penultimate game to serve for the set, eventually sealing victory when the Pole's return on match point went wide. "I think she (Martinez) didn't tell me anything new. She told me everything I knew already," Andreeva added. "She just told me to keep going because I played good and she just told me to go for my shots, that I don't have to change anything."
The Guardian
16-02-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Raducanu ends losing run with comfortable victory against Sakkari
Emma Raducanu ended her losing run in style with a straight-sets victory over Greece's Maria Sakkari in the Dubai Duty Free Championships. Raducanu came into the match on the worst run of results in her career, having lost four successive matches. But the former US Open champion made the ideal start with a break of serve in the opening game and rounded off a 6-4, 6-2 victory in fine fashion with her third ace of the 90-minute contest. 'I just tried to stay really focused on the point in front of me,' Raducanu said. 'There were some momentum shifts throughout the match and when I got broken twice early in the sets I just regrouped really well and I managed to break back [immediately] both times. 'I was really pleased with how I fought and competed against Maria, she's a top player, been as high as three in the world. I'm just really proud of my performance.' Raducanu has now won all three of her matches against Sakkari without dropping a set, including in the US Open semi-finals in 2021 and last year at Wimbledon. 'I think in a way we play quite similar, she's really athletic,' Raducanu said when asked about her 100% record. 'I'm not necessarily going to give all my tactics away, it's just a very difficult match every time we play so I'm happy to have won on all these occasions in all big tournaments and very happy to get through to the next round.' Raducanu had failed to capitalise on wildcard entries into tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Doha in the past two weeks, losing in the first round both times to Marketa Vondrousova and Ekaterina Alexandrova respectively. Those losses followed another first-round defeat against Cristina Bucsa in Singapore and a hammering by Iga Swiatek after she had reached the third round of the Australian Open for the first time. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion The 22-year-old will face Karolina Muchova in the last 32 after the 14th seed beat Suzan Lamens 6-2, 6-2.
