Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova showcased their exceptional skills and resilience with a decisive 7-5, 7-5 victory over Zhang Shuai and Kristina Mladenovic in the semifinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Friday.
The Czech-American duo took control early, breaking their opponents in the first set and maintaining their momentum to secure the opening set in 12 games. Their dominance continued into the second set, where another break led to their triumph after 12 games when Mladenovic’s shot went wide, handing Zhang and Mladenovic their second loss following their earlier encounter at this year's Australian Open.
Meanwhile, Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Su-Wei and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko faced a tough battle against Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan in the other semifinal. After dropping the first set, the Chinese duo mounted a fierce comeback, pushing the match into a super tiebreak. Hsieh’s exceptional net play was the key to their thrilling 6-4, 4-6, 10-2 win.
The stage is now set for Saturday's final, where Hsieh and Ostapenko will look to avenge their previous defeat against Townsend and Siniakova, who denied them Grand Slam success at Melbourne Park in January. Tennis fans can expect an electrifying showdown as these top pairs vie for the championship title.
Reference(s):
Townsend and Siniakova set up Australian Open final rematch in Dubai
cgtn.com
