World No. 1 Iga Swiatek had a disappointing end to her Dubai campaign but that didn’t prevent her from sending a very classy message to Jasmine Paolini following the Italian’s big day.
On Friday, No. 1 seed Swiatek exited Dubai in the semifinal stage after world No. 40 Anna Kalinskaya beat her 6-4 6-4 in the semifinal. For Swiatek – who won a WTA 1000 tournament in Doha – it was her first defeat after seven consecutive wins in the Middle East.
By beating Swiatek, 25-year-old Kalinskaya set up a Dubai final against 28-year-old Paolini – for both, it was their first WTA 1000 final. In the end, it was Paolini who ended up winning the title after beating Kalinskaya 4-6 7-5 7-5.
“Gratulacje (congratulations) Jasmine! What a week,” Swiatek wrote on X.
Gratulacje Jasmine!👏🏼👏🏼
What a week🤙🏼— Iga Świątek (@iga_swiatek) February 24, 2024
Paolini wins Dubai and receives a congratulatory message from Swiatek
Before coming back from a set down to beat Kalinskaya, Paolini was close to losing the match in two sets and then also to losing the match in three sets. At one point, Kalinskaya was up by a set and had a 3-1 lead in the second set before Paolini claimed breaks in the sixth and 12th games of the second set to overturn the second-set deficit and force a decider. In the third set, Kalinskaya was 5-3 up before Paolini won the next four games to overturn the deficit and complete her comeback win.
“I’m really happy how I managed to come back. It’s unbelievable. I don’t know. I’m just so happy,” Paolini said.
When the tournament started, Paolini wasn’t considered among the top favorites for the Dubai title. But Paolini delivered a big week as she defeated Beatriz Haddad Maia, Leylah Fernandez, Maria Sakkari, Sorana Cirstea and Kalinskaya en route to winning the title. Also, it should be noted that Paolini was scheduled to play Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinal but received a free pass after the Kazakh gave her a walkover.
“I’m proud of all the work I made this year. It’s not easy to bring this work in the match sometimes. Yeah, I’m playing good tennis. I played well at the end of the last season. I started well the season with second week in Australian Open,” Paolini said.
“Now I try to be more relaxed on court, to try to think more what I have to do, to be more present every point. I think it works.
It’s not going to be every week like this, of course, but I’m trying to do my best.”
