German star Angelique Kerber has posted her 15th WTA win of the season with a 6-4 6-3 defeat of former world No.1 Karolina Pliskova to move into the semi-finals of the Dubai Championships.
The match, a replay of the 2016 US Open final won by the 30-year-old German, lasted an hour and a quarter, with Kerber never facing a break point.
Kerber dropped out of the top 20 last year but a storming comeback this season, which has seen her reach the Australian Open semi-final and win the Sydney International, has put her back in the top 10.
She next plays top-seeded defending champion Eliva Svitolina in a repeat of last season’s Dubai semi-final, which Svitolina won.
The Ukrainian booked her semi spot with a 6-2 6-4 win over Japan’s Naomi Osaka.
Kerber has improved her record against Pliskova to seven wins and three defeats after winning five of their last six matches.
“I have much more confidence than when I started the year, where I actually had no idea where I was, especially after last year,” Kerber said.
“I have already so many matches under my belt, so that gives me much more match confidence. I’m going out there and just thinking about the next match, the next point – nothing else.”
Svitolina’s win over Osaka ended a two-match losing streak against the world No.48.
“I had a couple of tough matches against her. I had to be ready for her to come back,” Svitolina said. “I had to be ready for her to raise her level.”
Svitolina, ranked fourth in the world and boasting 10 WTA titles, held off an Osaka charge in the second set to emerge victorious.
“I’m definitely happy, the way I’ve been handling the pressure and tough moments,” Svitolina said.
“I just stayed in the moment, I was fighting, waiting for my opportunity, trying to earn opportunities.
“This was pretty much it – she gave me a chance and I took it. This was the key.”