Former world number one Venus Williams won her third Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title on Saturday after the American defeated Alize Cornet of France 6-3, 6-0. It was clear from the get go that there’s still a lot of tennis left for the 33-year old, despite having to deal with Sjogren’s Syndrome which she was diagnosed back in 2011.
“First of all, I think Alizé is playing great,” Williams said. “I think if she continues to play like that, she’s going to play deep in a lot of tournaments and keep improving. It’s great to see that, because she’s a great addition to the game. She brings so much passion on the court, so it’s great to see her playing well. I mean, I was fully expecting to play Serena, so for her to get that win was awesome.
“But I have had a good week. Everything is falling together pretty much, is all I can say.”
Williams entered the event as a wildcard and even though she’s unseeded in this event, she wasn’t taken for granted by her opponents, after all, she won the Dubai title back in 2009 and 2010.
“63 60 is a bit tough in an hour and 30, so I guess there was a battle on the court, but she was just better than me – that’s it, really there’s nothing else to say,” Cornet said. “She was playing more aggressively. She was pushing me out of the court very far from the baseline. I didn’t play as deep as yesterday and didn’t serve as well – but Venus played well the whole week and deserves this title.”
Cornet produced a shock upset in Dubai after defeating top-ranked Serena Williams in the semifinals and prevented an all-Williams matchup in the final.
Both Williams and Cornet will see significant jumps in their rankings on Monday.
