Dubai Tennis Championships: Bencic Upsets Halep, Semifinals Analysis
By Harry Floyd
The 2019 Dubai Tennis Championships is entering the semifinals in women’s singles. Simona Halep is not among the semifinalists.
The semifinals at the 2019 Dubai Tennis Championships has a few unexpected names. When Naomi Osaka found herself ousted early, Simona Halep became an immediate player to consider a favorite. One might have also thought another former world number one in Karolína Plíšková could be a top contender for the title.
Both Halep and Plíšková find themselves heading home before the semifinals in Dubai. Let’s take a look at the Halep and Belinda Bencic quarterfinal matchup first.
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The Romanian tennis star came face to face with the rising Swiss tennis player in the quarterfinals. Bencic was coming off of a big win over the eighth seeded Aryna Sabalenka. Halep, however, was the third seed and was yet to drop a single set.
Winning the first set against Bencic, it looked as though the Romanian had it in the bag. Bencic, as she did in her prior match, rallied back with incredible spirit. She cruised through the final two sets against Halep, ultimately winning 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Plíšková also goes the way of Halep, falling to Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei. The Taiwanese tennis veteran finds herself in both the women’s singles and doubles semifinals action. She will take on the second seeded Petra Kvitova next in women’s singles. Kvitova is coming off of a dominant straight set win over Viktória Kužmová. She advances, winning 6-4, 6-0.
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The final quarterfinals match between WTA Finals champion Elina Svitolina and Carla Suárez Navarro would be a tough back and forth. Svitolina roared to a first set win before Suárez Navarro battled back early in the second. Her effort was not enough for the fourth seeded Svitolina though as the Ukrainian moves on after winning 6-2, 6-3.
Looking at the semifinals action at the Dubai Tennis Championships, we have to favor either Kvitova or Svitolina. It will be two seeded players versus two unseeded players. There is a lot of talent left in the final four. Kvitova might have the perfect combination of experience and momentum right now to take a title.