Everyone thought that if only American would make the final in Dubai it would be #1 Serena Williams. Everyone was wrong. Venus Williams routed #8 Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-2 in 1:21. Williams was strong on her first serve and won over half the points on both the first and second serve of Wozniacki as she broke her six times in nine service games.

In the other semifinal Serena took on Alize Cornet, the lowest ranked opponent of the tournament thus far for her and someone she was 3-0 against. She never found a way to break the Cornet serve though and only saw one break point in 10 service games. Williams struggled on her second serve winning just nine of 24 points. The upset loss meant we wouldn’t see a Venus–Serena final, something we haven’t seen in over four years.

Reaching the final in the doubles’ draw was Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigal Spears with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Flavia Pennetta and Sam Stosur in less than an hour. The Americans only lost 14 points on serve all match and were broken just once in nine service games while winning nearly half of the points off their opponents serve and breaking them four times in eight service games. They now face Alla Kudryavtseva and Anastasia Rodionova in the final.

Singles Draw

This is the route for each American to the main draw if the higher rankings win. Green means the American on the left would be the higher ranked player, red means they would be lower ranked. Bold on an athlete indicates that match has been completed. Matches highlighted in yellow are on today’s schedule. Click to expand.

The draw for Venus Williams won’t have her face a top ten player in Dubai at all. Still with two top 12 opponents and only playing players ranked ahead of her it’s been a very strong showing for her in Dubai.

The Matchups

Venus Williams and Alize Cornet will be meeting for the fourth time when they play. Williams is 3-0 and won 6-3, 6-3 in their last meeting, a first round matchup in the Australian Open last year. They met in the round of 16 in Dubai five years ago when Williams won 6-3, 6-2.

Doubles Draw

This is the route for each American to the main draw if the higher rankings win. Green means the American on the left would be the higher ranked player, red means they would be lower ranked. Bold on an athlete indicates that match has been completed. Matches highlighted in yellow are on today’s schedule. Click to expand.

Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigal Spears are the higher ranked team again in the final as their opponents, Alla Kudryavtseva and Anastasia Rodionova knocked out the highest ranked team left: Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Safarova.

The Matchups

The only previous meeting between Kops-Jones/Spears and Kudryavtseva/Rodionova was a very tight first round loss in Rome last May, 7-5, 7-5.

Tuesday Schedule

All times ET

• 8 AM – Raquel Kops-Jones/Abigail Spears vs. Alla Kudryavtseva/Anastasia Rodionova on Center Court – Kudryavtseva/Rodionova lead 1-0 all-time
• Approx. 10 AM – Venus Williams vs. Alize Cornet on Center Court – Williams leads 3-0 all-time

TV Schedule

Tennis Channel will be on air with Center Court from 10 AM-6 PM ET and should have coverage of the singles final.

The US had a really strong day in Dubai as both #1 Serena and Venus Williams reached the semifinals in the singles draw while Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigal Spears are in the doubles semifinals.

Venus Williams took out Flavia Pannetta in straight sets 6-3, 7-5. Venus was broken four times but broke Pannetta six times as Williams won a majority of points on both her serve and Pannetta’s serve. Venus faces #8 Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals.

Lisa Raymond and Shuai Zhang (China) were knocked out by Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Safarova 6-3, 7-5 in the quarterfinals. The match might not be as close as it looks as the Raymond/Zhang only won 18 points off their opponents serve and won 15 less total points.

Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigal Spears took on #1 Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci thumped them soundly 6-4, 6-1 in an impressive outing. The Americans won 56% of the points off the Italians first serve and broke them five times in eight games. They’ll face Flavia Pennetta and Sam Stosur in the semifinals on Friday.

Finally #1 Serena Williams took on #5 Jelena Jankovic and routed her 6-2, 6-2 in and hour and 16 minutes. Williams was strong on her serve (won 65% of her service points) and tore into the 24 second service points that Jankovic served up by winning 16 of them. Williams won the match by breaking her five times in eight service games. Serena now faces Alize Cornet on Friday in the semifinals.

Singles Draw

This is the route for each American to the main draw if the higher rankings win. Green means the American on the left would be the higher ranked player, red means they would be lower ranked. Bold on an athlete indicates that match has been completed. Matches highlighted in yellow are on today’s schedule. Click to expand.

The draw for Serena Williams was lightened a bit when Alize Cornet knocked off Carla Suarez Navarro. Serena can make the final in Dubai with only one match against a top 22 player in the world, Venus is playing her third so far against Wozniacki.

Continue reading Serena and Venus Williams Both in Dubai Semifinals →