Top seed Angelique Kerber continues her quest to regain the number one ranking as she faces seventh seed Elina Svitolina in the semifinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Kerber's path to the semifinals
As the top seed, the German received a first-round bye. Her second round match saw a 6-4, 6-3 victory over countrywoman Mona Barthel. In the third round, Kerber exacted revenge from Monica Puig for her shock loss in the finals of the Olympics, blazing past the Puerto Rican 6-2, 6-3 in just 65 minutes.
The quarterfinals saw the German brush aside Croatian Ana Konjuh by a similar scoreline as her victory over Puig, taking the win by a 6-3, 6-2 count.
Svitolina's path to the semifinals
As the seventh seed, Svitolina also received a first-round bye. She faced Saisai Zheng in the second round. A competitive first set gave way to a dominant second set as the Ukranian won 7-5, 6-1. Round three saw one of the matches of the tournament as Svitolina rallied from behind to defeat Christina McHale 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in two hours and 36 minutes.
In the quarterfinals, another American, Lauren Davis was the seventh seed's opponent, but Svitolina, much like in her match against Zheng, produced one blowout set and one close set, winning 6-0, 6-4 in 66 minutes.
Head-to-head
This is the tenth career meeting between Kerber and Svitolina and while the German holds a career 5-4 edge, the Ukranian has won their last two meetings, most recently a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of Brisbane this year.
Who will reach the final?
Kerber's form has looked significantly better than it has all year and the matches against dangerous, quality opponents in Puig and Konjuh highlight how well the German is playing here. She has the added pressure of needing to win the tournament to claim the top spot in the rankings from Serena Williams, but has handled the challenge so far.
Svitolina, as she so often does, has been going about her business quietly. She'll look to go one step further here than she did in 2016, crashing out in this round to eventual champion Sara Errani. The Ukranian will have the confidence in knowing she's beaten Kerber, both times with the German at number one in the world.
In a match that should feature some excellent rallies as neither player possesses a lot of power, Svitolina has less pressure, confidence in recent success against Kerber and the steadiness in her game to stay with the German. A close match will tip the Ukranian's way. The winner will face tenth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki or unseeded Latvian Anastasija Sevastova, who contest the other semifinal.
Prediction: Svitolina in three sets