Anna Kalinskaya, a Russian qualifier who was not seeded, defeated the first-seeded Iga Swiatek with scores of 6-4 and 6-4 on Friday to secure a spot in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Kalinskaya dominated the final stretch, winning 10 out of the last 14 games and overcoming five aces from Swiatek. She defeated the player from Poland in one hour and 41 minutes.
Kalinskaya, who is 25 years old, will be competing against Jasmine Paolini from Italy for their chance to win their first WTA 1000 title on Saturday. Paolini defeated Romania’s Sorana Cirstea with a score of 6-2, 7-6 (6). Kalinskaya and Paolini have both beaten each other in the past, with Kalinskaya winning 6-4, 6-2 against Paolini in the fourth round of the Australian Open in January.
Kalinskaya has enjoyed a week to remember, including winning two matches in qualifying just to reach the main draw. She later toppled top-10 players Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in the third round and Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals before beating Swiatek in the semis.
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Kalinskaya expressed her admiration for Swiatek in her post-match interview, acknowledging that she would need to maintain a calm and aggressive mindset to stand a chance against the talented player. Despite this challenge, Kalinskaya was able to execute her plan of staying aggressive and keeping Swiatek on the move, ultimately leading to her victory. She also expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to play against such an incredible player and looks forward to facing her again in future matches.
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Paolini, who is 28 years old, managed to save six set points during her one hour and 57 minute match against Cirstea. “I added some excitement at the end of the game,” Paolini joked.
