Jelena Ostapenko wins Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship.

Jelena Ostapenko hoists the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship after defeating Veronika Kudermetova in straight sets.

Jelena Ostapenko proved that hard efforts lead to success at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championship Saturday night. The Latvian dominated Veronika Kudermetova early and kept herself in check to win in straight sets 6-0, 6-4 on centre court at the Dubai Tennis Stadium. It was her first championship win in the UAE and the fifth of her career that brought her back into the top 10 rankings since the French Open five years ago. 

This was the first meeting for the two and for the Russian, it was her facing an unstoppable freight train. The Latvian began the tournament with a massive statement of defeating Sofia Kenin. She then took down three more former grand slam champions, with all her efforts invested. Friday’s win over Simona Halep was unheard of, as she bageled the Romanian in a tiebreak and took the third set flawlessly. With her going into the final, she had a disadvantage against Kudermetova, who got the day off when her opponent withdrew before the match began. It gave her a chance to prepare against a fatigued opponent and attempt to win a WTA 1000 title. 

Ostapenko showed no signs of trouble when she scored a serve to love and broke Kudermetova in the following game. It was a comeback from 15-40, that saw the Latvian win the next three points to earn the break. She added another service to love in the third before breaking the Russian, whose first serve was almost nonexistent. She gifted Ostapenko three breakpoints, before saving a point and eventually going down 4-0. The momentum was all in the hands of the 24-year-old, who made it 5-0 on a harder fight from Kudermetova, who came down from 40-0 to force deuce. A mistake handed Ostapenko an AD point, which she didn’t miss. 

It was up to Kudermetova to stop her opponent from shutting her out, but time to regroup the first serve was not on her side. She again handed Ostapenko free points and sat 40-15 down before she went down in flames. It was a lightning-fast victory for the Latvian, who took 22 minutes. Consistency was the major factor in the first set, with Ostapenko serving 63 percent with eight of ten points won, and five of six from the second. Kudermetova won just 22 percent and had seven unforced errors that were enough to throw that behind her. 

She went into the second set, breaking Ostapenko before backing it up with a hold of serve in the second. Just when it looked as if the momentum had miraculously changed, the Latvian got back on track, winning the next three games in a row. Sitting halfway between herself and a brand new title, Ostapenko tried to add a fourth game against the Russian, who dug in on serve and leveled the score at three-all. 

Despite having her short winning streak broken, the Latvian picked herself up in the seventh to take the game with Kudermetova trailing on the scoreboard. A key break set her up to serve for the title in the ninth, only to hand the Russian two points to start. Kudermetova was soon up 40-15, scoring the break win on a bad slice from Ostapenko. The 24-year-old tried to do it against Kudermetova’s service in the tenth, firing a line drive winner for championship point. 

The Russian delivered an unreturnable serve to kill it off, but on the next point, sent the ball long. It gave Ostapenko a second championship point that she clinched on a net deflection from Kudermetova, ending one hour and seven minutes of play on the court

“I think I played really well today,” said Ostapenko, whose voice was still on the recovery. “In general, I’m happy with the whole week because It was a very tough opponent I had to face every round, but I love to play here and come back again.” “I was fighting to the very last point and was down a match point against Petra, and every match was very tough, and I was fighting and the main thing I was doing, but I’m happy with the way I was playing all week.”

She is far from done in Dubai, as she and Kudermetova face one another in the doubles tennis final.    

Jelena Ostapenko clinches Dubai Final spot with three set upset of Simona Halep

Jelena Ostapenko played every point against Simona Halep during the semifinal of the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championship. 

Simona Halep found her biggest challenge late at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championship to take her out on Friday night. Jelena Ostapenko kept her game in check, pushing the Romanian to three sets that gave her a spot in the final with a 2-6, 7-6, 6-0 score on Dubai Tennis Stadium at the Aviation Tennis Club. Playing every point, she not only shut out Halep in a tiebreak but bageled in the final set. 

This was the first time they met since 2017 when they faced off for the French Open title that Ostapenko won. Before the gap in meetings, Halep won in Beijing, leading to this important match in Dubai. In the tournament, Ostapenko played six sets with most of them going to the brink. Her fights with Iga Swiatek and Petra Kvitova were all nail-biting marathons to make it to the final four. The Romanian had it way easier as the 2020 champion never dropped a set against any of her opponents. Halep’s consistency was her best tool to end the Latvian’s run if it all came together right. 

Ostapenko opened the match with a comfortable service, with Halep following suit. They played four holds of serve until the Romanian made her attack. Halep forced deuce and denied the Latvian an AD point before she clinched her own. The 30-year-old backed it up in the sixth for a 4-2 lead that beat down Ostapenko. The 24-year-old struggled on serve in the seventh, committing two double faults, handing Halep another break. She moved like lightning while serving for the set where she took just 83 seconds to clinch the hold of serve. 

It was a 27-minute set that saw the Romanian dominate late despite only having three winners and an ace. The damage on unforced errors totaling 20 for Ostapenko was a major issue that she knew would need to change to fight for victory. She secured the hold to begin the second set, then battled Halep’s serve to break her in the second. Moving the Romanian behind the baseline and increasing the aggression in her game began to set into place. She notched a third before Halep got on the board with her first in the fourth. 

The Romanian launched an attack that earned her a break, and in the sixth game, leveled the score by holding serve. Ostapenko made sure that stay ahead of Halep, denying her a chance to break again. The 30-year-old leveled back in the eighth, leaving it up to Ostapenko to produce the win she wanted. After holding in the ninth, the battle was on for the Latvian to overtake Halep and take the set. Errors cost her big in the tenth, giving Halep the hold on an error into the net. 

The Romanian’s defense was near impeccable, but against Ostapenko’s serve, it wasn’t in place to break her. Halep had the balls back in hand to serve for the tiebreak and hung to deuce after double-faulting and committing errors. She notched another one, giving Ostapenko another set point only to see it return into the net. A second return into the net clinched the tiebreak, making it the first for Halep and the third for the Latvian.

She took a 2-0 push, scoring big on the crosscourt winners, adding her 26^th of the match to make it 3-0. The 24-year-old took full advantage that sat her at 5-0 with an ace. A long ball from Halep handed Ostapenko a third set point with a line drive winner shutting out the Romanian to move a third set into play after 49 minutes. It marked the third match in a row where the 24-year-old went three sets adding Halep’s first of the tournament. Despite having 23 errors, the Latvian’s 18 winners dominated late to help her keep the fight on. 

The Latvian denied Halep any momentum on serve, breaking her apart in the opening game. Ostapenko painted the lines on serve in the second, backing up the break. The former world number one tried to regroup in the third, only to see that her level of tennis wasn’t close to matching what the Latvian brought. It resulted in a double break for Ostapenko which stunned the Romanian contingency in the stands. 

She made it 4-0 for herself, scoring another huge service while silencing Halep. The Romanian was all but out after she lost another service when Ostapenko challenged one of her returns. Umpire Pierre Bacchi played the hawkeye, which showed that Halep’s last return was long, making it 5-0 for the 24-year-old. She served for the match for a shot at the final and bageling the Romanian for the first time. 

Nerves came to visit after she double-faulted on the first point. She had another one that brought up breakpoints for the Romanian but got to deuce. The Latvian gained her first match point on an error from Halep, who answered on a winning return. A long ball from the 30-year-old brought up a second which came on a deflection into the net ending a huge victory for the Latvian after 1 hour and 36 minutes. 

Halep had 20 unforced errors and eight double faults from her end that was too much to handle playing Ostapenko, who had 36 total winners. “I’m really happy with the way I fought,” said the 24-year-old, who was losing her voice out on the court. “Simona’s a great player, and I knew it was going to be a tough match so I had to keep the level up and did pretty well.”

When asked how she coped with playing matches like that in the tournament Ostapenko made a clear acknowledgment. “Every round, I played a grand slam champion, so it’s not the easiest draw. Every match was a really tough one so I really go there and ready to fight a battle.” She’ll have more to come when she fights for a title against Veronika Kudermetova on Saturday night. 

Johannes Thingnes Boe wins gold in men's mass start

Johannes Thingnes Boe celebrates his victory after taking the gold medal in the men's 15km biathlon mass star at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Johannes Thingnes Boe had a near-perfect run to take the gold at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Friday. The great Norwegian won the men’s 15km mass start at the Zhangjiakou National Biathlon Centre. Martin Ponsilouma of Sweden won the silver medal and Vetie Sjaastad Christiansen joined Boe on the podium for bronze. 

30 men competed for the last medals in biathlon on the 2.5km course with four visits to the range. Quentin Fillon Maillet of France was at the front once more for France along with the Boe brothers from Norway. J.T. Boe led everyone in for the first, but he and a majority of the leaders missed one target. Tarjei Boe went perfect but didn’t get out front into the first position. Coming to the line was Sebastian Samuelsson of Sweden followed by the Gow brothers from Canada in second and third place. 

Tarjei Boe rounded out the top four, but on the second lap, he fell back a little while the Canadian brothers lead the way together. Before entering the range for the second time, everyone was mixed up with J.T. Boe back in the front and Fillon Maillet near him. J.T. Boe went perfectly with Christian Gow coming in second. The Frenchman missed one along with Tarjei who both exited in eighth and ninth respectively. 

In the third shoot, J.T. Boe came in with Philipp Nawrath of Germany. Nawrath missed three times, taking him out of the lead while Sweden’s Martin Ponsiluoma took second. Fillon Maillet went clean to move into third, with one more visit to the range left. Near the ten-kilometer mark, the French biathlete caught up with the Swede, getting back to second to hunt down J.T. Boe. 

The Norwegian came in for the last visit to the range, having a 13 lead before his first shot. He missed two that opened the door for Fillon Maillet or Ponsilouma to overtake him. The French star missed three that blew him off the podium, while the Swede sat 17 seconds back in second. Taking third was Christiansen before Fillon Maillet locked himself into fourth 15 seconds from the bronze position. 

J.T. Boe’s lead was 31 seconds on Ponsilouma, who had Christiansen 30 seconds back. Fillon Maillet was cutting time in his effort to catch the Norwegian. J.T. Boe crossed the line in 38:14.4 with the Swede coming in 40 seconds later. With all his efforts Christiansen held off Fillon Maillet while continuing to look over his shoulder, finishing third. 

Justine Braisez-Bouchet wins gold in women's mass biathlon start

Justine Braisaz-Bouchet of France waves her nation's flag while crossing the finish line for the gold medal in the women's 12.5km mass start at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. 

Justine Braisaz-Bouchet pulled herself late into the lead to win big at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Friday. The French biathlete topped Tiril Eckhoff and Marte Olsbu Roeiseland of Norway, who took silver and bronze in the women’s 12.5km mass start. The Frenchwoman’s actions of minimal misses earned her a second gold at the Zhangjiakou National Biathlon Centre. Eckhoff achieved her third consecutive medal in the same event, while Roeisland won a medal in every event at the Olympics this year. 

The top 30 biathletes took off on the 2.5km course, where they would complete five laps, with four visits to the shooting range. According to their world cup standings, the competitors left as a whole, with Germany’s Denise Herrmann leading the entire pack. Norway took the helm with Roeiseland skiing them into the shooting range as the chaos of firing began. On the way out, Tiril Eckhoff got in front of her teammate by a small margin as Hanna Oeberg of Sweden sat between them. 

At the entrance of the second shoot, six biathletes came in with the rest 20 seconds or more behind. Eckhoff and Roeiseland finished well and were out in first and second, followed by Julia Simon of France, who was more than 30 seconds behind. The two Norwegians came in alone to the third shoot, facing off for perfection in the standing position. With a 45 second gap, they took their time, but both missed twice, leading them to the penalty laps. 

Simon’s teammate Braisaz-Bouchet went perfect, coming to the exit line at the exact time as Roeiseland, who managed to finish her penalty laps quickly.  The Frenchwoman didn’t stay behind her too long, overtaking the Norwegian and gaining 15 seconds at the 8.4km mark. Eckhoff was in fourth, sitting a second back of Roeiseland, hoping to have a better outcome on the final visit to the range. 

Both Norwegians missed twice again with Braisaz-Bouchet continuing to lead after she missed one target. Eckhoff and Roeiseland somehow came out in second and third, but the gap was 50 seconds for the French biathlete, who skied away for the gold. At the first time check, Eckhoff cut 16 seconds from the gap, but it wasn’t enough to catch Braisaz-Bouchet. The 25-year-old finished 15 seconds from the Norwegians, who made sure that no one surpassed them for the remaining spots on the podium. 

Veronika Kudemetova upsets Garbine Muguruza at Dubai Duty Free

Veronika Kudermetova celebrates during her second-round match with Garbine Muguruza at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships. 

Veronika Kudermetova pulled off a late feat to dethrone the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Champion Wednesday. The Russian fought point after point with Garbine Muguruza to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 on centre court at the Aviation Tennis Club. 

The Spaniard defended her title defense against Katerina Siniakova, who she struggled against on two occasions. Tuesday's victory over the Czech gave her a boost of confidence that she was capable of handling anyone. She carried a three-match streak on Kudermetova, hoping that the effort put in 24 hours ago wouldn’t become a problem. The 24-year-old scored a surprising win over Victoria Azarenka, who came back to Dubai after a long absence and exited once more. The Russian had a lot to be proud of in her game but had a full-time player to battle against. 

She made it clear to Muguruza in the opening game when she struck to force deuce and produced a breakpoint. The Spaniard slammed the door shut and played two more breaks to hold serve. In response, she took a 3-0 lead on Kudermetova, who eventually got a victory from her service in the fourth. The Russian broke the fourth seed in the fifth but suffered the break back from Muguruza. A serve to love made it 5-2 for the former world number one, who allowed Kudermetova to notch another game from her end before putting the set to rest. 

Muguruza smashed another game quickly, blanking the 24-year-old to take the set in 43 minutes. The fourth seed served an impressive 81 percent of shots on the first serve, with only five winners against the Russian. They opened the second with holds of serve that lasted six games. At the end of Muguruza’s victory, the Russian called for the trainer during the sit-down and took an off-court medical timeout. She returned to court five minutes later, going into the seventh with another service hold. 

The Spaniard remained level with Kudermetova after eight holds of serve. Muguruza posted a serve to level that tied them at four-all until the Russian accomplished the same feat to make it 5-4. The 24-year-old opened the tenth game with three set points, with Muguruza saving two only to come up short after 50 minutes. Kudermetova nailed 13 winners during her set win while keeping the Spaniard down and out with one. 

They went into the deciding set with Kudermetova serving first once again, holding Muguruza to a point. The 27-year-old stayed with the competition through another eight holds of service, until the Russian made her move. It was there in the ninth that Kudermetova trailed the fourth seed and won the next two points to force deuce. She produced two AD points before taking the lead and playing for the match. 

Muguruza tried not to let up, but on game point, the 24-year-old scored a winner to force deuce and caught her first AD point for the match. Kudermetova had Muguruza right where she wanted her to bring an end to the battle that took 2 hours and 17 minutes.  

Jelena Ostapenko edged Iga Swiatek in three sets at Dubai Duty Free

Jelena Ostapenko lets out a scream during her second-round match with Iga Swiatek at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championship. 

Jelena Ostapenko kept her never-say-die attitude in check to come through at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships Wednesday. After losing the first set, the Latvian battled game after game with Iga Swiatek, who pulled off a last-ditch effort but was cut short in a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) on Court One at the Aviation Tennis Club. It marked her third match win over the Polish star, who showed signs of struggle against the resurgent Latvian. 

The two French Open champions met for the third time with the Latvian carrying a two-match streak against the Pole. The world number nine got the taste of Ostapenko’s aggressive game that put a restriction on putting together a pace. The Latvian overwhelmed Sofia Kenin on Tuesday, as the American struggled with her game as a hole. Swiatek pulled off the same feat against Daria Kasatkina, setting up a serious clash in the Emirate city.

Swiatek got a grip into the set early notching her first service game and then breaking Ostapenko in the following game. The Latvian managed to break back, only to see Swiatek score the double break for a 3-1 lead. She responded with her own double break, with help from the Pole, who double-faulted and practically gifted the game. The breaks continued on as the sixth seed picked up her third in a row over the 24-year-old. 

Ostapenko kept the game going the way it was, breaking Swiatek to stay a game down, keeping in the hunt. The Latvian dug in on her service game, recording an ace to get on the right track. Swiatek stayed close to the score, but missed on the last point, handing Ostapenko her first service hold of the set. The world number nine held an important service, putting her back in the lead at 5-4, with the hope of breaking her opponent once more. 

The sixth seed got herself into position, jump ahead on the scoreboard in the tenth for two set points. Swiatek pushed Ostapenko into a corner, making the next two shots difficult for her to return, which brought an end to the first in 36 minutes. Swiatek’s service was in the basement, winning 5 of 14 points from it. Her return game was no better, but the mistakes from the Latvian with four double faults damaged her offense to sit a set down. 

She came into the second set, holding serve, and made a statement of breaking Swiatek in the next game. She gripped the lead tighter over the sixth seed, who struggled with the first serve, suffering her second break of serve in the set. With a commanding 3-0 lead on the Pole, Ostapenko added another service game that backed up the double break. Swiatek found a way to resurge and clinch her first game of the second. 

In her attempt to tie another game on, Swiatek gave Ostapenko a challenge in the sixth. Despite forcing deuce, Ostapenko handled the situation and remained firm on serve to lead 5-1. Swiatek felt the pressure on serve and struggled to maintain strength from it. She erred too much against Ostapenko, who took the victory in what was a major defeat of the Pole that took her 31 minutes that set up the deciding set. 

The Latvian got back to business, scoring her third game in a row against Swiatek. She consolidated the hold with a break of the sixth seed, who was experiencing her vulnerability exposed. The Pole suffered another defeat, giving Ostapenko a six-game winning streak. Swiatek found a way to snap her opponent’s dominance and get on the board in the fourth, but it was a long way from a comeback. She somehow etched another game in the form of a break, digging into deuce with Ostapenko before capping it off. She pulled off the comeback to make it three-all, but a key hold from the Latvian gave her back the lead in the seventh. 

Swiatek battled in the eighth, forcing deuce on serve to save a breakpoint, and took down two more from Ostapenko. After two missed chances for the AD point, Swiatek battled to go a total of eight breaks, where it was a seventh breakpoint that gave Ostapenko a 5-3 score and service for the match. The sixth seed had other plans as she pushed the Latvian to the brink, committing a double fault. It left one game in place for Ostapenko, who had to stop Swiatek or face a long fight to the end. 

The 20-year-old had a chance to serve to love but erred to get Ostapenko into action. The Latvian pressured with the crosscourt returns that forced deuce and brought up a match point. Ostapenko sent victory into the set that put them back to deuce once more where Swiatek fired a winner to make it five-all. The 24-year-old felt the challenges from the wind to the fans cheering Swiatek on. 

They assisted in giving the Pole three break points but watched her blow two of them on errors. On the next point, Ostapenko fired a return into the net that gave Swiatek the 6-5 lead that opened the door for her to serve for the match. The 20-year-old struggled with the serve in the 12^th but made her way back that included a challenge from Ostapenko, who found out that her shot for the match point was long. Brushing it off, the Latvian delivered with a masterful crosscourt to win the game and force a tiebreak. 

The 24-year-old opened it, taking the first pair of points and losing the next pair to Swiatek. She regained the lead on a key winner before the Pole took control on serve. She scored another minibreak to sit up 4-2 and stayed in front with a two-point lead. The Latvian scored her second match point with a net-front smash, before blowing it into the net. Three was a charm for Ostapenko, who watched a long return from Swiatek fall behind the baseline to end the fight in 2 hours and 29 minutes. 

Jill Teichmann upsets Elina Svitolina in straight sets in Dubai

Elina Svitolina didn’t have the answers to advance at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championship Wednesday. The former two-time winner of the tournament was bested by Jill Teichmann, who conducted a bit of dominance against the tenth seed, winning 7-6, 6-2 on centre court at the Aviation Tennis Club. 

The two met twice on the clay courts, splitting wins at Strasbourg and Madrid in consecutive years. On the hard courts, both have had ups and downs this season, needing a positive change to continue for one of them. Svitolina was back in her happy place and dealt with Mayar Sherif in straight sets. The Swiss star pulled off a big defeat of Elise Mertens, winning 6-2, 6-4. Though she had a win against the tenth seed, getting one on the hard courts was another task to accomplish. 

The Swiss star got the match started with a hold of serve followed by Svitolina, who matched Teichmann. The two continued holds of serve through eight games, with no signs of struggle. The Swiss continued her strength of holding serve to take the important 5-4 lead on Svitolina. The hope for a break in the tenth didn’t come as the Ukrainian controlled a majority of her service until a mistake at 40-15 brought Teichmann closer. 

Another error forced deuce for the 24-year-old, who miss-hit the forehand, bringing up an AD point for Svitolina. She was denied on her first but gained three more with her consistency to make it five-all. Teichmann was done having Svitolina on her tail and made a statement in the 11^th with a serve to love. The Ukrainian didn’t have it easy in the 12^th as she committed her fourth double fault but got out of trouble to force the pivotal tie-break. 

Svitolina faced the danger of blowing her consistency when Teichmann broke her for the minibreak and took off with the next five points. Sitting at 6-0, the 24-year-old blanked the tenth seed to walk off with the first set in 56 minutes. The Swiss notched nine winners and had a seven-point streak to be proud of against Svitolina, whose first-serve percentage took a hard hit from the double faults. 

She got into focus to regroup, doing so with a hold to start the second set. When it looked possible to notch a break in tow, her returns landed long of the baseline too many times. It led Teichmann to hold serve and send the problems right back in the third. She had break points in place, but errors got Svitolina to deuce on serve. The 27-year-old saved four breakpoints in a row, but the fifth went bad, leading to a break. 

Teichmann consolidated the break for a 3-1 stand against Svitolina, who couldn’t find an answer to countering her opponent. The Swiss had the double break in hand and coasted to victory back on serve to sit a game down of the match. The Ukrainian tried a last-ditch effort to bring her game together and extend the set further beyond her service. Long returns from Teichmann helped her clinch the service, but the ball went back into the hands of the Swiss to end it. 

Despite putting in the effort on deuce, the Swiss player let the Ukrainian create her own problems and earn the victory that clinched an upset in 1 hour and 44 minutes. 

 

Garbine Muguruza holds off elimination with three set win over Katerina Siniakova

Garbine Muguruza lets out her frustrations during an opening-round match with Katerina Siniakova at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championship. 

Garbine Muguruza clinched an important match to move on at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championship Tuesday. The Spaniard went three sets against Katerina Siniakova, who she figured out to get through in three sets 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-2 on center court at the Dubai Tennis Stadium. It marked her first win over the Czech in nine years and one that kept her title defense going. 

The two met for the fourth time with the series lead in the hands of the Czech. Muguruza hasn’t won a match against her since 2013 and as defending champion, needed a victory to keep her title defense alive. Siniakova took their most recent wins at Wuhan in 2018 and last year in Montreal. With her doubles skills paying off in those wins, the 25-year-old wanted to keep the grip on the Spaniard. 

The fourth seed got off on the right foot, scoring a break to open the match. She allowed one point to Siniakova and then again in the second to take the lead. The Czech got back to service in the third, securing her serve that turned the momentum her way. She went on to break Muguruza and back it up in the fifth to sit on a three-game streak. The Spaniard stopped her by holding serve in the sixth, but the Czech regained control and took the next two. 

Muguruza caught a major break as Siniakova double-faulted twice on serve in the ninth, giving her a 40-0 lead. The Czech saved every breakpoint to force deuce, but after five breaks and a set point lost, Muguruza kept the heat on and broke back. She leveled the score at five-all, allowing her opponent one point. Siniakova responded in the 11^th game, shutting the fourth seed to try and take the set. 

The Spaniard denied her that chance, forcing deuce and holding the first AD point played to move into a tiebreak. It was a close race until the seventh point when she took the lead after losing the minibreak. She kept in front until she had set point at 6-5, breaking Siniakova, who lost her chance after 72 minutes of a heavy contest. 

Both had a high number of unforced errors with Muguruza committing 40 and Siniakova 30. The difference-maker was the Czech’s six double faults that blew her momentum apart and found herself a set down. She made a push in the first game to place herself well against Muguruza. The Czech broke in the second and took off with the momentum that she wanted to maintain back in the opening set. 

Muguruza got on the board but lost the next three to sit 5-1 down. Siniakova tried to close it out on serve in the seventh, only to see Muguruza conduct the end of the game and secure a break. The 25-year-old didn’t want any more of her opponent’s comeback, breaking the Spaniard in the eighth to end the set in 33 minutes. Despite having a lower serve percentage than Muguruza, minimizing the double faults to one and committing just ten unforced errors was a key improvement to be playing a deciding set. 

Before she could make a move, Muguruza got on the board first while serving to open the third. They stayed on serve through five games, until Muguruza dug in deep in the sixth, forcing deuce with Siniakova. The two went four breaks with the Spaniard hunting down the AD point three times to gain a margin over the Czech. The tenth seed backed up the key break to lead 5-2 on another hard fight by Muguruza, earning her a chance to end the match. Siniakova felt the pressure and double-faulted, giving Muguruza a match point. She erred on her first try with one going into the net, but her second was a long return from the Czech to survive a 2 hour and 24-minute battle. 

“We always play very difficult matches,” said Muguruza. “Today I was ready for it. I think the first set was a key and such a tough set, and the second set she came playing better and happy that I won this match.” The 28-year-old would go into Wednesday facing Veronika Kudermetova, who took down Victoria Azarenka in a surprising straight-set result.  

Elina Svitolina finds her form at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship

Elina Svitolina celebrates on court during her first-round match at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship.

Elina Svitolina found her comfort zone in her return to the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships Tuesday. The Ukrainian had some trying times from Mayar Sherif but came through in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 on centre court at the Dubai Tennis Stadium. It was the strongest win for the Ukrainian this season in a tournament she played well at. 

The two-time champion of the tournament was back for her eighth appearance in the desert, hoping to find comfort and get her game back on track. Her run in Australia lasted five matches where she made no significant success as the then world number five. As the world number 15, the 27-year-old looked to take it a grain of salt at a time against the Egyptian and feel out the first set. 

The Ukrainian opened with a serve to love in the first before Sherif responded in the second. The Egyptian made good of her service to keep Svitolina off her back and hold the tenth seed back. Sherif became a challenge for Svitolina, who saw her force deuce but gained the AD point quick to end it. She made a statement in the fourth with a break before backing it up back on serve. 

Sherif scored a serve to love in the sixth, but the deficit continued to grow for the tenth seed, who had another good service game to lead 5-2. Svitolina went after the set on Sherif’s service, producing set point only to see it get brushed off with a net-front lob return from the Egyptian. An error from her end brought up a second set point for the tenth seed, who was again denied victory. After playing five breaks and fighting off three AD points for Sherif, Svitolina found the one to get the job done and seal the set up in 40 minutes. 

Sherif had 19 unforced errors but bettered the Ukrainian on winners and no double faults. Despite having had two, the tenth seed sat a set up and would go for more. She did just that in the second set, holding the Egyptian to a point. They got into a heavy contest in the second when the 25-year-old overcame a 40-15 deficit to force deuce on serve. She went four breaks and stopped the third breakpoint, but the fourth stayed in the hands of Svitolina. 

She made her pay for the time spent in the second and smashed her way, with only a point going to the Egyptian. Svitolina kept up the attack with breakpoint chances that Sherif tried to defend. The 25-year-old stopped one but the second-handed Svitolina the double break and a 4-0 run. When it looked as if the tenth seed would march forward, her game went silent, and committed two double faults. It gave Sherif a break to love, getting her on the board, with a chance to back it up on serve. 

She did just that in the sixth, digging into her service to cut into Svitolina’s lead. The Ukrainian knew she couldn’t let another service slip away and played laser-focused tennis to jump up 5-2. The Egyptian served to stay in the set but hit a couple shots long in the eighth. She handed Svitolina a match point but saved it on a middle court forehand winner. They went to deuce for two breaks where a long return from the tenth seed kept Sherif in the action. 

With the ball in hand to serve for the match, Svitolina felt the pressure to close it out. With a long ball from Sherif that forced deuce, the tenth seed gained an opportunity on a wide return from her opponent that brought up a second match point. The 27-year-old ended a six-shot rally, watching the ball land long of the baseline to end her day in 1 hour and 27 minutes. 

“It’s always tricky to play someone you have never played before,” said Svitolina. “I was expecting a tough battle today, and I think there were lots of long rallies and played some good points, so in the end, it was a good match.” 

Jelena Ostapenko rolls easy through Sofia Kenin at DDF Tennis Championships

Jelena Ostapenko clenches her fist during her first-round match with Sofia Kenin at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships. 

Jelena Ostapenko came out hot, and fired up the competition at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships Tuesday. The Latvian controlled the pace of the match from the third game on as she trounced Sofia Kenin in straight sets 6-1, 6-2 on centre court at the Dubai Tennis Stadium. The Latvian scored seven aces while allowing the American just three games in a lopsided score. 

Both had a win against one another coming into their third career meeting. The American gained her first defeat of the French Open champion on the same courts she went on to win the title at five years ago. When it comes to the hard courts, the Latvian carried a better record hoping that her run back in St. Petersburg would roll well into the UAE. She made the second round last year and Kenin was back in the draw since 2020. With both players having a different style of tennis, either one of them would conduct a battle for the other. 

The Latvian got the match started with a comfortable hold from her end, but didn’t expect to see struggles early from Kenin. The 23-year-old had trouble with her form that got her into a hiccup early but got out of it by holding after a threat of deuce. Ostapenko went on to hold the third, scoring the first break on double faults committed by Kenin. The Latvian struggled to back up the break, as she got into trouble when the American forced deuce. 

The two went four breaks where Ostapenko saved two break chances to maintain her service. In retaliation for such efforts, she ravaged to 0-40 and held after losing two to sit up 5-1. The Latvian had the double break and sealed the first set, allowing Kenin a point before it was hers in 27 minutes. All was right with Ostapenko, who despite having three double faults nailed five aces and kept the first serve at 66 percent. Kenin struggled on both sides of the ball, scoring 5 of 11 from the first and four of nine from the second. Her return game was in the dumps, winning on 4 of 19. 

Things looked to improve when she scored a serve to love to open the second set and broke the Latvian to lead for the first time. Ostapenko got out of the jam quickly, responding with a serve to love in the third and holding serve in the fourth. She fought to earn the double break and backed it up with a fourth consecutive game. Blanking Kenin handed her a triple break that set her up for a massive victory. Serving for the match in the eighth, Ostapenko allowed the 23-year-old just one point to walk off the court with a massive upset that took 54 minutes. 

It was there that she had three double faults and only two aces, with Kenin lowering her double faults significantly. Unfortunately for the American, her offense stayed quiet, winning only six points from her service end and five on the returns. An improvement of her game was needed to get back on track, while Ostapenko moved into the second round on fire. 

 

Norway comes from behind to win gold in biathlon relay

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Norway had a roller coaster run in the men’s 4x7.5km relay but somehow finished with the gold medal at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Tuesday. They went from first to 11^th and caught a major break on the last shot at the Zhangjiakou National Biathlon Centre. France took the silver and despite a major mistake at the range, the ROC won bronze.  

The Swedes came in as defending champions but didn’t make a great showing in any of the individual races. Norway leaned heaviest to take it with the Boe brothers in play, but with Quentin Fillon Maillet and his team in the hunt, France had a great chance at medaling near them. Teams had to send one person out and complete three laps of 2.5kms, with two visits to the shooting range. 

On the first visit, Norway, the ROC went clean but didn’t cross the line first. It was Switzerland and Estonia taking charge, but at the 3.4 km mark, Norway got back in front with the ROC right behind them. France missed two at the range but somehow made it back to the leading pack. In their second visit, while standing, France went clean with China and Switzerland, but it was the ROC that took the lead despite having a penalty lap. Behind them were Belarus and France, who kept pace with them. 

Those three countries came in first for the exchange, along with the others that included Norway, who had one of their best in play to make up the lost ground. At the 1km mark, they made their way to the top ten, looking to better themselves at the range. The ROC was in by themselves to shoot and went clean before France and Belarus fired away. The Belorussians took off perfectly while France had a miss but went clean on their shots. 

During the fourth visit to the range, the ROC was again alone but missed twice as France and Belarus arrived. He managed to go clean and kept the two behind by 17 seconds with France in second and Belarus falling 42 seconds behind in third. Norway moved into seventh at their exit of the range, sitting 1:40 of the leader. 

At the third exchange, the ROC was still in the lead, with France 36 seconds behind. Belarus was still in third, with Italy on their tail. Norway moved into sixth at the halfway point but didn’t cut into the deficit. At the fifth shot, the top three remained in place as Germany and Norway completed the top five. The gap for the Norwegian’s was 1:52 which nearly had the podium fading from their grasp. 

At the sixth shoot, the ROC was up nearly a minute on France, with Germany behind them. Norway got themselves into the hunt, sitting five seconds from bronze medal position with the last exchange left. The ROC comfortably left the starting line with their anchor leaving for the competition 41 seconds ahead. France, Germany, and Norway came in together for their exchange, leaving it in the hands of their best to fight for a medal. 

In the seventh shoot, the ROC was in and out quickly before second through fourth arrived. Norway was first to take off in second while France struggled after a missed shot. They moved to fourth, while Germany was behind Norway by three seconds. The two countries put a 10-second margin on France, leaving them to fight for silver and bronze alone for a moment. France got within four seconds while on the course as their biathlete had the energy to close the gap. 

In the last shot, the ROC came in alone but missed four times with none made. He got two in but had to reload each time. With the door wide open, Norway took over first place while the ROC ended up needing two penalty laps in a major defeat. France followed Norway out 21 seconds back, with the ROC somehow beating Germany for third, who were 12 seconds trailing. 

With a kilometer to go, Norway had a 26 second lead on France, who weren’t going to close in. The ROC sat in third, with Germany fighting from behind. At the finish line, in what was a shocking turn of events, Norway took the gold medal with a time of 1:19:50.2. France arrived at the line 27 seconds back and the ROC held on for the bronze. 

Quentin Fillon Maillet wins second gold in men's pursuit

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Quentin Fillon Maillet broke apart Norway from doubling up on the podium at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Sunday night. The French biathlete took control of the lead and took the gold in the men’s 12.5km pursuit at the Zhangjiakou National Biathlon Centre. Tarjei Boe came in for the silver medal and ROC’s Eduard Latypov came in behind him for the bronze. 

The Boe brothers had a chance to fight it out for the gold in the race but would have Fillon Maillet in the mix between them. The other 57 who qualified would run a five-lap race around the 2.5km course. 

J.T. Boe had a 26-second lead to start out in front of the Frenchman, who had a 13 second lead over Tarjei Boe, who left third. Tsvetkov was two seconds in fourth, with the rest of the pack close in tow. J.T. Boe came into the range with a 36-second lead but had to battle the windy conditions that remained. The 28-year-old nailed all five shots just as Fillon Maillet arrived. The French biathlete was 41 seconds back but went clean on his visit. Many of the others that came in missed at least once, but taking third was Latypov, sitting 40 seconds back of the Frenchman. 

In the second shoot, J.T. Boe was back for his second prone position, looking calm and comfortable. He missed two in a row and made three, with Fillon Maillet arriving as the Norwegian was in the penalty look. The Frenchman had a struggle with his rifle but managed to nail all five and sit 12 seconds back. Latypov opened the gap behind him while he sat comfortably in third 14 seconds ahead of fourth. 

J.T. Boe was trying to get the gap to rewiden on Fillon Maillet but only made it to 20 seconds. Tarjei Boe was a minute behind his brother, in the hopes that he could get lucky with others in front of him missing. J.T. Boe was in for the first of two standing shots and missed three while Fillon Maillet and Latypov both went clean. The Frenchman and ROC athlete took first and second by ten seconds while Lukas Hofer gained third, with Tarjei Boe close behind. J.T. Boe dropped to fifth, trailing his brother by less than ten seconds.

With the last shoot left, Fillon Maillet and Latypov were in together with no misses between them. The Frenchman came out clean while the ROC athlete missed one to open the door for Hofer and Tarjei Boe. The two were behind Latypov by three seconds, while J.T. Boe took himself out of the competition after two more missed targets. Tarjei Boe managed to get ahead of Latypov and left him behind with a growing gap. 

At the finish line, it was the French biathlete coming in with a time of 39:07.5, with Tarjei Boe 28.6 seconds back. 

Norway win gold and bronze in women's pursuit

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Marte Olsbu Roeiseland went wire to wire to give Norway another gold medal at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Sunday night. The Norwegian dominated in the women’s 10km pursuit at the Zhangjiakou National Biathlon Centre. Elvira Oeberg of Sweden regained her start position taking the silver, while Roeiseland’s teammate Tiril Eckhoff came in for the bronze as a surprise.  

The medalists from the sprint were first to go out on the course during snowy and windy conditions at the Chinese mountainside. The top 60 finishers followed them out and chase their way to a new set of medals while trying to avoid penalties from missed shots. Five laps of 2kms, with four visits of shooting with two prone and two standing positions, were necessary to complete before crossing the finish line. 

Roeiseland was first to leave, followed by Oeberg and Wierer, who came in 31 seconds and 37 seconds respectively from their sprint times. With brand new snow falling on the ground, many of the best biathletes felt improvements in how they traveled around the course. Roeiseland was in for her first test in the prone position and went clean. Oeberg and Wierer both went clean as well, sitting 32 and 37 seconds back of the Norwegian in that order. 

In the second shoot, Roeiseland came in alone once again and went clean just as Oeberg and Wierer arrived. The Swede missed one while the Italian went clean, picking up second while Oeberg did a 150-meter lap. Austria's Lia Theresa Hauser earned up a chance to overtake Oeberg, sitting nine seconds back of third place. 

Roeiseland was in for the first of two standing shoots, missing her first but would have time chewed off from her lead. Wierer missed two that opened the door for Oeberg, who also missed two. Everyone behind them missed at least once, leaving the standings for the top two unchanged, with Hauser moving into third.

Roeiseland’s lead was 1:33 on the Italian, earning a good margin for her to miss at least two on the final visit to the range.  Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold overtook Hauser for third on the course, making it a tight race for the bronze medal. Roeiseland managed to go perfect with the range all to herself and left with the gold medal all but sealed. Wierer was in while the rest of the pack arrived and missed one in the process. Tandrevold went perfect and moved into third behind Oeberg, who managed to regain second place. 

At the finish line, Roeiseland found herself gaining another gold medal with a time of 34:46.9. Oeberg realized that she was well ahead of Tandrevold and scored the silver, coming in 1:36 later. In a complete surprise, Tandrevold was no longer behind the Swede, as she struggled to finish the race. Coming into third was Eckhoff 1:48 later which was a shock to many, wondering what happened to the Norwegian. She was spotted coming into the finish line and crossed in 14^th. 

The 25-year-old was completely out of gas on the last climb of the course and couldn’t keep her pace.