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Iga Swiatek has won the French Open three times and the US Open in 2022.
Qualifier Anna Kalinskaya defeated world number one Iga Swiatek to advance to the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Kalinskaya, 25, won 6-4, 6-4 over the four-time Grand Slam champion in an hour and 42 minutes.
“I knew that if I didn’t stay calm and aggressive, she would destroy me,” Kalinskaya said.
The Russian will face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, who defeated Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 7-6 (8-6), in Saturday’s final.
Kalinskaya added: “I’m happy to play against her and I’m sure we’ll see her a lot in the future.”
The world number 40 is the sixth lowest-ranked player to reach the final in Dubai and becomes the first qualifier to achieve that feat.
“I didn’t have the strength to do more. Things like this don’t happen very often,” Swiatek said.
“I lost a little bit of control because of that. Normally, if I tell myself what to do, I can improve my game. Today I felt so weak and tired. I couldn’t do that.”
Finalists Kalinskaya and Paolini met in Melbourne at the Australian Open in January, with the former winning 6-4, 6-2.
The two will meet in Dubai for their first WTA 1,000 final.
