Venus Williams won her 40th career singles title on Saturday at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
The reigning Wimbledon champion beat unseeded Virginie Razzano 6-4, 6-2 in the women’s final.
It was a well-contested match, even though the score of the second set suggests otherwise. Razzano, who will rise from 58 into the top 40 by reaching the final, challenged well throughout the match, and was only let down for a short period of the second set by some problems with her serve.
The Dubai tournament has been overshadowed this week by the controversy surrounding Israel’s Shahar Peer, but Venus took time to remember Peer after the match.
“Despite a very challenging week for everyone, we got a positive result in the end,” Williams said.
“We all worked together. Shahar was very brave and paved the way for what happened this week with the men’s event, and hopefully all the right things will be in place when we come back.”
Cara Black and Liezel Huber defeated Maria Kirilenko and Agnieszka Radwanska in the doubles final.
“We have such a great record here,” Black said after she and Huber won their third doubles title in Dubai. “We had tough opponents tonight and we fought hard, and in the end it’s another great week for us so we’re really pleased.”
I can’t believe. I just saw the singles draw for the Acapulco tournament and Venus Williams is set as the top seed. Seems like she’s serious about playing a clay tournament before Miami. Good for her.