Kvitova, Halep advance at Dubai Championships

Associated PressFeb 20, 2019, 7:54 PM EST

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Former champions Petra Kvitova and Simona Halep overcame windy conditions to reach the quarterfinals of the Dubai Championships on Wednesday.

The second-seeded Kvitova beat American Jennifer Brady 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 despite struggling with her serve, while No. 3 Halep ousted Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine 6-3, 7-5.

A day after Naomi Osaka lost her first match since moving up to No. 1 in the WTA rankings, fifth-seeded Angelique Kerber was also upset in a 5-7,6-4,6-0 loss to Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan.

Kvitova, the 2013 champion in Dubai, struggled badly in the second set when she failed to convert four break points in the opening game and then was broken twice to trail 4-0 – double-faulting twice in each of those service games.

But the two-time Wimbledon champion saved two break points in the first game of the decider before breaking the American’s serve to take a decisive lead. After a 10th double-fault on her first match point, Kvitova sealed the win with a winner at the net.

“The wind was just terrible today, to be honest. It was really difficult to find a way with it,” Kvitova said. “I couldn’t really serve well today at all. It’s been big struggle for me.”

Halep had fewer problems in earning her second win over Tsurenko in two weeks, after beating her at the Qatar Open as well. Although she did have to break back when Tsurenko served for the second set at 5-4, winning the final 12 points to seal the victory.

“I feel close to my highest level,” said Halep, the 2015 champion. “My mindset now is just to finish the points as quick as possible. I’m trying to be more aggressive… I’m more relaxed. I don’t put pressure on myself. Also I have no expectations. When I feel that, I play better.”

Also, fourth-seeded Karolina Pliskova beat Alison Riske of the United States 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5), and No. 6 Elina Svitolina breezed past Garbine Muguruza of Spain 6-1, 6-2.

Alcaraz wins Indian Wells over Medvedev, regains No. 1 rank

Associated PressMar 20, 2023, 1:00 AM EDT

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INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – Carlos Alcaraz defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-2 to win the BNP Paribas Open title and regain the world’s No. 1 ranking.

The 19-year-old Spaniard will move from second to first in the ATP Tour rankings on Monday, displacing Novak Djokovic. The Serb withdrew from Indian Wells before the tournament began when he couldn’t gain entry to the U.S. because he’s unvaccinated for COVID-19.

“For me, it’s a dream come true again,” Alcaraz said. “Obviously being in front of such great players like Novak, it’s an amazing feeling.”

“I would say this has been the perfect tournament,” he said.

In the women’s final, Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (11), 6-4 and handed the world’s second-ranked player just her second loss this year.

Last year, Alcaraz became the youngest man to reach No. 1 in ATP history after his title at the U.S. Open.

He achieved another mark in the third round at Indian Wells. That’s when Alcaraz notched his 100th career match victory, the second-quickest player behind John McEnroe to do so.

Alcaraz also became the first man to win the tournament without dropping a set since Roger Federer in 2017 and the youngest man to win the title in the desert.

“I really trust in every shot that I hit,” he said. “If I miss, I don’t mind.”

Alcaraz hit 19 winners and had 10 unforced errors while keeping Medvedev off-balance with a steady array of serve-and-volley and drop shots. The teenager never faced a break point while opening leads of 3-0 in the first set and 4-0 in the second.

“What I improve a lot is to don’t take the pressure, just to play relaxed,” Alcaraz said. “That’s why I show a great level, because I feel like I have no pressure. I enjoy. I’m playing relaxed.”

Medvedev’s 19-match winning streak ended. It went back to his title run in Rotterdam in February. He then won tournaments in Doha and Dubai.

“I want to congratulate you for the work you have done in the last few months,” Alcaraz told his opponent. “Winning three titles in a row and reaching the finals here is an amazing achievement.”

Alcaraz and Rybakina earned $1,262,220 each for their wins.

Rybakina carried the momentum from her straight-set semifinal upset of top-ranked Iga Swiatek into the final and beat Sabalenka for the first time in five career meetings.

For the first time in their budding rivalry, the match didn’t go three sets. Sabalenka went the distance to beat Rybakina in the Australian Open final in January. In that match, Sabalenka fired 17 aces and rallied from a set down to win her first Grand Slam title.

This time, the 10th-seeded Rybakina had seven aces and No. 2 seed Sabalenka committed 10 double faults. Sabalenka won just 11 of 35 second-serve points.

“I would say that I was super disappointed with my serve, so I was back to old habits,” she said. “I was like a little bit overreacting on things, and I wasn’t there in the first two games in the second set.”

Rybakina broke for leads of 2-0 and 5-2 in the second set before Sabalenka closed to 5-4. But Rybakina served out the victory in just over two hours.

“This tiebreak was really epic, I would say, with all these double faults and nerves,” Rybakina said. “In the end, it was just focusing on every point and try to fight till the end.”

Rybakina improved her match record to 16-4 this year; Sabalenka fell to 17-2.

“This tough loss will motivate me more because I don’t like to lose in the finals,” Sabalenka said. “This is the worst.”

During the victory ceremony, Rybakina, the current Wimbledon champion, told the crowd it was the first time she’d beaten Sabalenka.

Sabalenka stepped forward, took the mic and said, “I will make sure it was the last one.”

Then she smiled.

Rybakina defeats Sabalenka to win Indian Wells title

Associated PressMar 20, 2023, 12:58 AM EDT

Robert Prange/Getty Images

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – Elena Rybakina defeated Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (11), 6-4 to win the BNP Paribas Open and hand the world’s second-ranked player just her second loss this year.

Rybakina carried the momentum from her straight-set semifinal upset of top-ranked Iga Swiatek into the final and beat Sabalenka for the first time in five career meetings.

This time, Rybakina had seven aces and Sabalenka committed 10 double faults.

Rybakina improved her match record to 16-4 this year; Sabalenka fell to 17-2.