Unfortunately Sara wasn’t able to win the final in Dubai. She played a good match, including a great second set, but in the end Petra Kvitova was too strong and won the match with 6-2, 1-6, 6-1. In the second set, Sara changed her tactics, playing more agressive, and coming to the net whenever she could.
“In the beginning she was hitting so strong and making winners from everywhere, so I had to change something,” she said. “I tried to go to the net more and be more aggressive, and that’s it – from the baseline she was playing unbelievable and it was very tough, so I just tried to put some more pressure on her somehow, and it was working.”
Despite the loss in the final, Sara was still happy with her tournament:
“I think it’s always great to do a final,” she said. “And also this court is very fast, so it’s not my favorite court and it’s tough for me to play on this court, so making the final is a very good tournament for me. I was fighting a lot every match. I didn’t really expect to win one round maybe, so it was a very good tournament for me in the end.”
On youtube you can watch the highlights from the final, and also the ceremony after the match. The WTA site has also published an interview with Sara after the match. And of course you can find the pictures in the photogallery.