The conditions remained difficult for the women who had so much to gain on the hard courts of the Arabian Gulf, just as they had been throughout this WTA desert fortnight.
Rain washed out many an hour in Doha last week, forcing the likes of Caroline Wozniacki to play two matches in a day, and having finished her semi-final at after midnight, she returned the next afternoon for the final. A tough week ended in victory for Karolina Pliskova.
Those same two finalists then hot-footed it to Dubai for the lucrative Premier 5, and perhaps not surprisingly, Pliskova lost her opening match. And perhaps not surprising either, Wozniacki took a medical time-out and reappeared with strapping to her left thigh. Yes, the weather in Doha had taken a toll, yet Wozniacki advanced, and survived an increasingly depleted half of the draw.
The only other Dubai champion, Agnieszka Radwanska, lost to rising teen star Catherine Bellis, but Wozniacki had no such problem.
And make no mistake, the Dane is popular here, not just for her big smile and cheerful demeanour but because she has been so loyal to the tournament. Every year since 2010 she has come to Dubai, until last year, when she found herself on a slide in form and rankings, down at 22 by Doha. Then an ankle injury disrupted the season, too.
But signs of the old Wozniacki appeared later in the year, with a semi run at the US Open and titles in Tokyo and Hong Kong. As she prepared to play for a place in the Dubai final, she had amassed a 14-4 run in 2017, and more significant for the tournament, 21-5 in Dubai. One more win and she would be the most successful woman in the history of the tournament.
And one more win she got. She broke, courtesy of a double fault, in the eighth game of the first set, and served it out, 6-3.
The second set remained in the balance as the world No35 Anastasija Sevastova, upped the intensity. Again, Wozniacki got the first break, but Sevastova had ample chance to level again at 0-40 up in the sixth game. A cautious baseline point from the Latvian was punished and Wozniacki held for 4-2.
But at the next opportunity, Sevastova took control of the break point and fired a winning backhand pass: 4-4.
The Dane’s ruthless counter-punching from the baseline, however, won her immediate break-back points, three of them, but one error from Sevastova all she needed.
It left Wozniacki to serve for the match, and she closed it out with a winning serve, 6-4.
She told the crowd: “It’s amazing. The crowd is always supporting me; you guys are amazing and make this tournament special.
“Being an ambassador for Dubai Duty Free just makes it all the more sweet, playing well here every year. I’m just thrilled to be in another final.”
For Kerber, the top seed, there was considerably more at stake: If she won the title here, she would regain the No1 that she gave up to Serena Williams at the Australian Open. In truth, it had not been a great start to her season: four wins, four losses. What’s more, her opponent, No7 seed Elina Svitolina, had beaten her in Brisbane, and three other times beside.
The German should not have been tired, but she was broken almost immediately and two errors passed up a break-back point in the fourth game. No7 seed Elina Svitolina led, 3-1.
Kerber broke back, only to be broken again as the Ukrainian woman pounded missiles from the baseline. She even ventured in to smash away volleys, and Kerber struggled to handle the pace. From 3-3, the No7 seed broke twice, served to love, and stormed to the set, 6-3.
Kerber adjusted in the second, and made a quick break, but it was the same story: Svitolina broke back and took control again with some big and aggressive hitting.
Now Kerber took a medical time out, having removed the strapping around her right knee—the weight-bearing knee for a left-hander. Sure enough she was broken straight away, Svitolina fought off a break point, and aced to hold for 5-3.
Serving for the match, though, Svitolina obliged with a swathe of errors to concede the break. And things got even more edgy. Kerber broke to serve for the set, only to be broke herself: It would take a tie-break.
Finally, the Ukrainian regained her powerful accuracy as Kerber’s movement became increasingly inhibited. Svitolina unleased a few first-strike forehands but it was not enough, and Svitolina made it three wins in a row over Kerber, 7-6(3).
If the final lives up to the only previous meeting between Wozniacki and Svitolina, it will be a worthy final. That one took 2hrs42mins and three sets to determine the winner—Svitolina. They will face-off again at 7pm Saturday.