By Adrianna Outlaw | Thursday, February 18, 2016
Elina Svitolina won six straight games to subdue CoCo Vandeweghe, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 and set up a Dubai semifinal with Sara Errani.
Photo credit: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
A historic run of upsets left seeds extinct in Dubai.
For the first time, seeds went winless in a WTA event.
The day after Elina Svitolina knocked second-seeded Garbine Muguruza out of the draw, she was in danger of exiting herself.
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Staring down a 0-2 third-set deficit, Svitolina regained control, withstood the blasts coming from CoCo Vandeweghe and reeled off six straight games to wrap up a 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 victory.
Caroline Garcia backed up her win over third-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro by dispatching Andrea Petkovic, 6-3, 6-4, today. Garcia will face Barbora Strycova in the semifinals. Strycova stopped former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic, 7-6 (5), 6-3, a day after Ivanovic toppled top-seeded Simona Halep.
Vandeweghe, who arrived in Dubai seeking her first win of the season, cracked 31 winners compared to six for Svitolina, but nearly doubled her opponent in unforced errors. Svitolina shrewdly counterpunched the American into errors.
"I was trying to react fast and move fast. I think it worked in the end," Svitolina told Anabel Croft afterward. "I was trying to chase every ball and to push her to go bigger. It was a good match and I'm really happy."
Svitolina will face former French Open finalist Sara Errani for a spot in the final.
Errani defeated American Madison Brengle, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in a match that featured 17 service breaks. Errani broke serve 10 times, including four times in the final set.
In their lone prior meeting, Errani was a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Svitolina at the 2014 Paris indoors.
"She played tough match as well today," Svitolina said of Errani. "It's gonna be a good match and long rallies for sure. I'm looking forward to it."