DUBAI – Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece won his first title in almost a year and broke a finals hoodoo as he cruised past Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada 6-3 6-3 in the Dubai tennis final.
Emma Navarro of the United States, also, eased into her first semi-final of the season with a 6-4, 6-2 win over defending champion Zeynep Somnez in the Merida Open.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka, meanwhile, praised the WTA’s mission to highlight the personalities of its athletes and called Saudi Arabia’s investment in the women’s tennis tour an important part of growing the game.
“There is nothing that ensured the win, it was just pure fighting,” said Tsitsipas after winning in one hour and 28 minutes.
The victory ended a losing streak in ATP 500-level finals for the Greek.
He has won the season-ending ATP Finals and at the tour’s top-level 1000 events, but had lost all of his previous 11 finals at 500 tournaments.
Those defeats included two losses in Dubai – to Roger Federer in 2019 and Novak Djokovic in 2020. “It’s a big relief that I’m able to hold that trophy after the third attempt,” the fourth-seeded Tsitsipas said on court.
“It’s something that I had in the back of my mind, and I’m happy to say I accomplished it,” Tsitsipas added according to AFP.
Auger-Aliassime, an unseeded Canadian, had made a strong start to the season, winning tournaments in Adelaide in January and Montpellier in February.
“I had a great opponent on the other side of the net, I knew it was a difficult task,” said Tsitsipas. “I’m just proud of the way I managed the pressure and was able to perform in those crucial moments.”
Tsitsipas dominated from the baseline. He did not drop serve, despite facing break points twice in each set. In the first set he broke the Canadian in the seventh and ninth games and in the second took the decisive break in the eighth game.
Tsitsipas, who was ranked No 3 in the world in early 2023 but had slipped to 11th, will move up to ninth when the updated ATP rankings are released on Monday.
“These are the things we are fighting for as professional tennis players,” said Tsitsipas.
“To be owning a spot in the top 10 is definitely one of the greatest feelings a tennis player can experience. It comes with hard work and sacrifices, but I’m happy that I’m in a position where I can really celebrate.”
World No. 10 Navarro eliminated Turkey’s Sonmez 6-4, 6-2 to clinch a spot in her first semi-final of the season. Navarro had posted two quarter-final finishes earlier this year, including at the year’s first Grand Slam, the Australian Open.
Navarro broke Sonmez’s serve seven times consecutively to finish the encounter, snapping Sonmez’s seven-match winning streak in Merida. Sonmez won the event when it was a WTA 250 last autumn, but she could not halt Navarro in her first-ever match against a Top 10 player.
Sabalenka, complete with a new logo and “Rally the world” tagline, comes amid a rise in global viewership and a record $4.8 million prize awarded last year to Coco Gauff for winning the WTA Finals in Riyadh, a tournament sponsored by Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
“It means a lot. We needed this refreshing moment for so long,” Sabalenka told Reuters.
“It’s a big move and I hope it’s going to help our sport to get better.”
Sabalenka, a big-serving Belarusian who grew up admiring the power games of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, said giving fans a more intimate look at the stars of the tour would pay off.
“The WTA should show our personalities and what it takes to become a top athlete,” she said.
“We all have to be an inspiration for the younger generation.”
“I’ve been there a lot and they have passion for sport. Their help means a lot for us,” Sabalenka said.
“Their support is very important for the WTA. I think all of us will be very grateful for their support.”
