Dubai, United Arab Emirates (SportsNetwork.com) – Top seed Simona Halep
went the distance Thursday to reach the semifinals where she will meet former
world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki at the $2.5 million Dubai Tennis
Championships.
The French Open runner-up Halep got past sixth-seeded Russian left-hander
Ekaterina Makarova 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 at Aviation Club Tennis Centre.
Halep was serving for the match at 5-3 in the final set before Makarova broke
her Romanian counterpart and then consolidated the break with a hold to level
the stanza at 5-all, but Halep then held and broke Makarova to move on.
Next up for Halep will be the third-seeded U.S. Open runner-up Wozniacki, who
took care of 10th-seeded Italian veteran Flavia Pennetta 7-5, 6-0.
Halep and the 2011 Dubai champion Wozniacki have split two career meetings.
Two other round-of-eight affairs saw 17th-seeded rising Czech Karolina
Pliskova upend 11th-seeded fellow countrywoman Lucie Safarova 3-6, 7-6 (7-5),
6-1 and talented Spaniard Garbine Muguruza oust 13th-seeded compatriot Carla
Suarez Navarro 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-3. Pliskova also beat Safarova in a
quarterfinal in Antwerp last week. Suarez Navarro reached the final in
Antwerp last week, but was unable to play in the match against Andrea
Petkovic because of a neck injury.
Pliskova will meet her fellow rising star Muguruza in Friday’s other semi. The
Spaniard won their lone previous meeting at the 2013 French Open.
The 2015 Dubai champion will claim $456,000.
