Venus Williams of the USA became only the second woman in the history of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships to defend the title when she defeated fourth seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-3, 7-5. Justine Henin is the other woman who was able to defend her title, winning in 2006 and 2007.
The finale to a spectacular week of tennis was a thriller that kept the crowd on the edge of their seat as the defending champion struggled to close out the first set and then keep control of the second. There was just one break in the first set, and drama before it was decided. Williams had earned the first two break points of the match at 3-2, and Azarenka then hit a fault. A second serve was called in, but Williams challenged the call with Hawkeye, which showed the serve had landed long to give Williams the break. Williams broke Azarenka a third time at 5-5 in the second set and served out for her 42nd singles title on the WTA Tour.
Unlike last year, Williams didn’t lose a set in her five matches, and in the final she lost her serve only once to Azarenka, ranked No. 6, one spot behind Williams.
“It was definitely very competitive,” Williams said. “I expected her to come out and play very well. I respect her game. Just the effort that she gives it. Even though I was leading in the second set, she just never gave up. She played really well and I am obviously happy to close the tournament out.”
