DUBAI: Venus Williams won her 45th career WTA title in an impressive 6-3, 6-0 victory over Alize Cornet of France in the Dubai Championships final on Saturday.
The 44th-ranked Williams, playing courtesy of a wild card, also won this title in 2009 and 2010. She’s won her last 15 matches in Dubai.
Williams, who will move up to No. 29 in Monday’s updated rankings, last won a title at the 2012 Luxembourg tournament.
Cornet had an early 2-1 lead with a service break, but Williams broke even in the fourth game.
After breaking Cornet in the sixth game, Williams failed to take advantage of two set points on the Frenchwoman’s serve in the eighth.
Williams closed out the first set on a third set point with a clean backhand winner.
In the second set, it was Williams all the way as Cornet was unable to even win a game.
The 26th-ranked Cornet was attempting to post back-to-back wins over the Williams sisters.
On Friday, Cornet scored her first career upset over a No. 1-ranked player by beating Serena Williams 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals.
In the second set, two breaks took Venus to 3-0, which she converted to 4-0, despite having to recover from 15-40.
During this she also profited from an uncharacteristically prodigal miss by her opponent, causing Cornet’s eyes to fill with tears, and making her drop her racquet.
It took several seconds for her to recover, but although she fought on bravely the momentum of Williams’ onslaught did not cease, and she finished the match with yet another flurry of fierce drives.
Venus’s face was afterwards wreathed with enormous smiles, while Cornet twice dissolved into tears during the match, aware from an early stage that she was unlikely to find a way to halt one of the game’s most formidable attacker two nights in a row.
“It’s great to be back,” Venus said, referring to her capture of the Dubai title four years ago.
“I was expecting to be playing Serena, but Alize played an amazing game in the semis, so congratulations on that.
“I have continued being able to practise, and I have been getting healthier,” Williams went on, referring to the long term effects of the immune deficiency which has been threatening her career.
“It hasn’t been easy. I have to thank the tournament for a wild card, and my family and Serena for encouraging me. They all kept me up when I was down.”
Cornet’s consolations were that she had achieved her first final on a hard court surface, and that she had managed four top 20 scalps, including a career best win to reach only her second Premier level final.
She is now very close to being back the top 20 for the first time in five years, a better player than she was then, and with every prospect of further progress.
With her sequence of five wins in this tournament Venus has remained ahead of sister Serena as the active player with the most WTA Tour wins (647 to Serena’s 641). Her dream of continuing till the Rio Olympics may yet be alive. (Agencies)