Semifinals are set at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, as Elena Rybakina, Jennifer Brady, Petra Martic and Simona Halep won their quarterfinal matches on Thursday.
The first to advance was red hot Elena Rybakina, who recorded her first Top 5 victory by upsetting second seed Karolina Pliskova 7-6(1) 6-3 to reach her fourth semifinal in five tournaments so far this season. The unseeded Kazakh, debutante in Dubai, recovered from 4-2 down in the first set and saved 6/6 break points in the second set. The most interesting statistical fact is that Rybakina hit 11 aces in the encounter, while the Ace Queen recorded just three.