DUBAI // Two-time winner Venus Williams maintained her flawless form at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, defeating Flavia Pennetta 6-3, 7-5 to book her place in Friday's semi-finals.
The 33 year-old American, who won the tournament in 2009 and 2010 before being forced to miss the next three iterations through illness, has now won 13 successive matches at the Aviation Club. She has not dropped a set all week.
Pennetta, who had started the contest with a 4-3 head-to-head record over Williams, asked more questions than the seven-time grand slam winner’s previous opponents this week, taking an early lead when she broke in the third game. Williams broke back in the sixth before taking the outright lead in the eighth and, leading 5-3, raced to 40-0. She did not need the three set-points.
The second set started where the first had ended with Williams immediately breaking her Italian opponent with aggressive, powerful play. The following five games went to serve before Pennetta faced another break point in the seventh, but she recovered to close out her service game with a delightful drop shot that left Williams stranded at the back of the court.
Pennetta found herself on the verge of levelling the set in the eighth, but Williams forced deuce and served an ace for the game. In the 10th, she broke back, but immediately failed to hold her serve to give the upper hand back to the American.
With Williams serving at 6-5, there was only going to be one outcome. She now faces Caroline Wozniacki, who dispatched Sorana Cirstea in straight sets on Thursday, for Friday's semi-final match.
Check back shortly with www.thenational.ae/sport for a full match report.
gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
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'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
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Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mominul Haque, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Mehedi Hasan, Shafiul Islam, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed.
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