Wozniacki wins Dubai

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-3 today in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. It wasn't until the latter part of the match, in fact, that Kuznetsova began to play in the form that has helped her win titles. For most of the match, she looked a bit sluggish, and she created a great number of unforced errors. Wozniacki, for her part, did not waver, getting back almost everything, and setting up some beautiful winning shots. She broke Kuznetsova's serve seven times.

This is Wozniacki's 13th WTA Tour title; tomorrow, she returns to the number 1 ranking position.

The ad hoc team of Liezel Huber and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez won the doubles title, defeating top seeds Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik 7-6, 6-3.

Wozniacki and Kuznetsova to meet in Dubai final

She had her first good run in a long time, but 6th seed Jelena Jankovic lost today in the Dubai semifinals to Caroline Wozniacki. In the final, the top seed will meet Svetlana Kuznetsova, who defeated 11th seed Flavia Pennetta. Kuznetsova is seeded 16th. In their head-to-head stats. Wozniacki has one three out of five matches, including two out of four played on hard courts.

Kuznetsova, by the way, is now 5-0 against Pennetta. Today was the first time that Wozniacki has ever beaten Jankovic, who won their previous four matches.

4 left standing in Dubai

One of my fantasies about women's pro tennis is that before Flavia Pennetta goes out to play, someone puts her in a trance and convinces her she is actually at Fed Cup. Today in Dubai, it was as though someone did just that. It isn't that Pennetta is not a top player--she is--but she can waver and be inconsistent. Today, though, she controlled every point in her quarterfinal match against Alisa Kleybanova. Pennetta won the match, 6-2, 6-0, held at love in the final game, and closed with an ace. Her service win percentages for the match were 76 and 80. It doesn't get any better.

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki also moved to the semifinals, with a win over Shahar Peer, and Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Agnieszka Radwanska in a match that was quite well-played. Jelena Jankovic took out 4th seed Sam Stosur, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6, in a match that went on over 2 hours and 50 minutes, and which contained ten breaks of serve. Getting consecutive wins over Kaia Kanepi and Stosur has to give Jankovic a badly-needed confidence boost. The smile on her face after today's match looked the smile we used to see most of the time.

With today's victory, Wozniacki is again the number 1 player in the world. She will face Jankovic in the semifinals.

In doubles, top seeds Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik are still in the competition, as are wild cards Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva.

Zvonareva out of Dubai competition

Today was a big day in Dubai. Alisa Kleybanova upset 2nd seed Vera Zvonareva, Jelena Jankovic defeated Kaia Kanepi, Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Francesca Schiavone (Schiavone again saved six match points), and--not surprisingly--Agnieszka Radwanska defeated Marion Bartoli. Top seed Caroline Wozniacki cruised into the quarterfinals, and Yanina Wickmayer, who worked so hard to upset Li Na, lost to Shahar Peer. Sam Stosur (def. Patty Schnyder) and Flavia Pennetta (def. Victoria Azarenka) also advanced to the quarterfinals.

Wozniacki will play Peer in the next round. If Wozniacki wins, she will again take over the number 1 ranking.

In Memphis, 6th seed Rebecca Marino hit fourteen aces in her quarterfinal match, and defeated Coco Vandeweghe. This is the first time that Marino has been seeded in a tournament. She will play Evgeniya Rodina in the semifinals.

Passing shots

Stephanie Cohen-Aloro has retired from professional tennis. The Frenchwoman held her highest singles ranking, 61, in 2003.

Simon Reed believes that Petra Kvitova is the real thing.

If Caroline Wozniacki reaches the semifinals in Dubai, she will again be number 1 in the world. Paris champion Petra Kvitova was defeated in the first round today in double tiebreaks by Ayumi Morita, which clears one of Wozniacki's potential obstacles.

Recently retired WTA Tour star Justine Henin is considering undergoing surgery for her elbow. She is going to take a few months to think about it, and hopes to be able to skip the operation.

Pattaya City champion Daniela Hantuchova experienced dizziness during her first-round match against Anna Chakvetadze in Dubai. She and Paris champion Petra Kvitova were both defeated in the first round. Kvitova cited exhaustion and a painful stomach muscle.

There may eventually be night matches at the French Open.

In World Team Tennis, the New York Buzz and the New York Sportimes have merged. The new team will be called the New York Sportimes, and all but two of its matches will be played at Randall's Island in New York City. The other matches will be played in Albany, the home of the New York Buzz.