Iga Swiatek stunned in Dubai by on-fire Anna Kalinskaya, backing ...
The qualifier is into her first WTA 1000 final on the back of the two biggestwins of her career, booking a championship clash against Jasmine Paolini.
Anna Kalinskaya snapped Iga Swiatek’s seven-match winning streak in shocking style at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, scoring the biggest win of her career, 6-4, 6-4 to reach her first WTA 1000 final.
"She's a great player. I knew if I didn't stay calm and I didn't stay aggressive, she was gonna destroy me!" Kalinskaya said on court after the match. "That was my plan: to stay aggressive, to move her a lot. I'm happy I won. She's unbelievable, and I'm happy I had the chance to play her. I'm sure we'll play a lot in the future."
A qualifier in Dubai, Kalinskaya backed up her victory over reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff, rallying from an early break deficit and held off a late surge to defeat the four-time major champ fresh off a victory at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open in one hour and 41 minutes on Center Court.
Awaiting her in the championship match will be another surprise as Jasmine Paolini completed a tight two-set victory over Sorana Cirstea to reach what is also the biggest final of her career. Kalinskaya and Paolini last met at the Australian Open in January, where the former won in straight sets.
"That was a difficult match," Kalinskaya said of the Italian. "She's a great player and she fights for every ball."
Kalinskaya has been one of the most in-form players of the season after ending 2023 on a high, reaching two finals and winning a title at back-to-back WTA 125k tournaments. The 25-year-old carried that momentum to Melbourne, where she defeated 2017 US Open champion en route to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open.
She rolled through the Dubai semis with the loss of just one set, planting No. 9 seed Jelena Ostapenko, 6-4, 7-5, before rallying from a set down to defeat Gauff in three.
