BETTER AND BETTER: Hsieh Su-wei and Barbora Strycova defeated Lucie Hradecka and Ekaterina Makarova 6-4, 6-4; Belinda Bencic waltzed to a 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 win over Petra Kvitova
Taipei Times
Date: Feb 25, 2019
By: Dave Carroll / Staff reporter, with Reuters, DUBAI, United Arab Emirates
Third seeds Hsieh Su-wei and Barbora Strycova on Saturday claimed their first title of the season in the
Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic wins the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship final against the Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday. Photo: AFP
doubles final at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, while unseeded Belinda Bencic outlasted second seed Petra Kvitova in the singles final.
Hsieh and Strycova defeated seventh seeds Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic and Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 6-4, 6-4 in 1 hour, 20 minutes to claim their second title as a duo after their victory in Indian Wells, California, last year.
The Taiwanese-Czech pairing saved two of six break points and converted six of 12, winning 68 percent of points on their first serve as they completed their third consecutive victory over a seeded duo in Dubai.
“I think we were playing really, really good, high level, especially second set when we were leading 4-1. Until 4-1, 40-love, we didn’t kind of miss any ball. We had the chemistry on court. We know exactly what to do,” Strycova told the WTA Web site. “This game I had easy volley there to finish it to 5-1. Didn’t make it. Su-wei was at the net when it was 4-all. I was serving, and she helped me there three times. That helped us a lot to have the confidence again.” [FULL STORY]
