Jessica Pegula powered to victory in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final on Saturday, denying Elina Svitolina the chance of becoming champion for a third time.
The American fourth seed – who reached the semi-finals of last month's Australian Open – dominated from the start as she looked to secure her fourth WTA 1000 crown.
Svitolina looked off the pace after three consecutives three-set wins in Dubai, quickly falling 3-0 down to the world No 5 and her attempt to bounce back ended when former US Open finalist Pegula saved two break points to go 5-1 up. A frustrated Svitolina netted a forehand as Pegula took the set.
Pegula – who celebrates her 32nd birthday on Tuesday – was measured in the second set as she secured a decisive break in the fifth game to secure her 10th title on the tour, ending a three-match losing streak in WTA 1000 finals with an ace to seal a 6-2, 6-4 victory in one hour and 12 minutes.
She is the third American to win the Dubai title after Lindsay Davenport and three-time champion Venus Williams. Pegula also became the second-oldest woman to win the tournament after Williams who won it in 2014 when she was 33.
“I couldn't ask for a better birthday present. I'm just super proud of myself. I had to play at a very high level, it was awesome,” Pegula said in her on-court interview.
“I feel like when you can get off to a quick start, that eases the nerves a little bit.
"I was really trying to put myself out there, and I was playing like there is no tomorrow, just trying to put all the effort in."
Pegula has been a regular presence deep into tournaments of late, reaching at least the semi-finals in her last seven events, including at Melbourne Park, the WTA Finals Riyadh and the WTA 1000 stops in Beijing and Wuhan.
Svitolina could not finish her first Dubai final since claiming back-to-back crowns in 2017 and 2018 with another victory that would have made it 20 career titles.
The 31-year-old had had came through an exhausting three-hour thriller with world No 4 Coco Gauff on Friday to reach the final, a 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 win that included an epic tiebreak in the second set, which saw Svitolina fail to take four match points as the American eventually came out on top 15-13.
The result prevented an all-US showpiece in the UAE after Pegula had fought back from a disastrous first set to beat countrywoman Amanda Anisimova 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 in their last-four clash.
"Mentally, I think, especially the match yesterday, I was down a set and 3-1, and I fought back, which made me feel free today," Pegula added. "I trusted the things we've been working on and it paid off."
Defending champion Mirra Andreeva's reign had been ended in the quarter-finals by Anisimova.
