DUBAI, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- World No. 4 Elina Svitolina won her second straight title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships by defeating her Russian opponent Daria Kasatkina 6-4, 6-0 on Saturday.
Svitolina, 23, brought her second Dubai title home after completing the final in 70 minutes only, cashing in 651,347 U. S. dollars prize money. The Ukrainian player had four aces against zero aces by Kasatkina.
In February 2017, the right-handed Odessa-born Svitolina enjoyed her breakthrough to the women's top ten when she won the Dubai Open and she pledged at that time to return to the Gulf. She is the first women player who won two consecutive Dubai titles within eight years. The last WTA player who defended her title in Dubai was Venus Williams in 2010.