Halep advances to semifinal against Wozniacki in Dubai

AP, Dubai :
Top-seeded Simona Halep needed five match points before finally defeating sixth-seeded Ekaterina Makarova 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 in the quarterfinals at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Thursday.
“I was a little bit nervous to finish,” said Halep, who served for the match at 5-3 in the third set. “Sometimes you feel like that. So you have to stay very focused and to fight for every point.”
Halep’s victory at Dubai Tennis Stadium set up a semifinal match against third-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, a former Dubai champion in 2011.
Wozniacki, who has been nursing a cold all week, beat 10th-seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy 7-5, 6-0, winning the last eight games.
“With the way I’ve been feeling this week I was trying to save as much energy as I can,” the Dane said. “I definitely very pleased with the way I’ve fought and still managed to win.”
For the second consecutive week, Karolina Pliskova advanced to the semifinals of a tournament by beating Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic.
Pliskova recovered from a set and a service break down to win 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1.