DUBAI — Stan Wawrinka won his ninth straight final with a 6-4, 7-6 (15-13) defeat of Marcos Baghdatis to earn the Dubai Tennis Championship trophy Saturday.
The French Open champion from Switzerland claimed the 13th title of his career and second of the season after Chennai, improving to 13-2 in 2016.
The match lasted for almost two hours, with Wawrinka saving five set points and winning when a Baghdatis return went wide on a fourth match point.
The 30-year-old came to the emirate as second seed having not played the tournament in eight years and without a match win until getting through the first round.
"I'm really happy to get the trophy, this was my best match of the week, I'm happy with my level today," said Wawrinka, who lost a 4-1 lead in the tiebreaker.
"I had to fight until the end — it was a quite crazy tiebreaker."
Baghdatis now stands 0-5 in finals since winning his last title at Sydney in 2010.
The Cypriot has now lost all six times he has faced Wawrinka.
Suarez Navarro bags Qatar Open title
Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro came from a set behind against Latvian teenager Jelena Ostapenko Saturday to win the Qatar Open, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.
It was only her second ever WTA singles title and means she will climb five places to become the world No. 6, her highest ever, when the latest rankings are released Monday.
The hard-fought victory, over one hour and 51 minutes, was also sweet revenge for the Spaniard after she was knocked out of Wimbledon in the first round last year by Ostapenko.
The 27-year-old described her victory as "magical".
"It means a lot, this tournament was really tough," said Suarez Navarro.
"The best players in the world were here, you have to play every day, it's not easy."
Two of her targets for the year were to get into the top 10 and win a tournament, both of which she has achieved in Doha.
"It's a amazing, a dream come true," she added. "I was in the top 10 (before), but the No. 6, it's a special number."
Her victory seemed unlikely during a first set when she was brushed aside by the 18-year-old in just 26 minutes.
But the Spaniard rallied and held on for victory.
The Latvian was undone by her number of unforced errors, 45 to the Spaniard's 25.
For Ostapenko, there was the consolation that her performance in Doha may mark a breakthrough week.
On her way to the final, she knocked out the world No. 8 Petra Kvitova and No. 21 21, Svetlana Kuznetsova.
In the semifinals, Suarez Navarro restricted No.3-ranked Agnieszka Radwanska to only two games 6-2, 6-0 and Ostapenko reached final when German Andrea Petkovic retired with a leg injury while trailing 7-5, 1-0.
