Simona Halep has won the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships with a straight-sets win over Karolina Pliskova.
In the first meeting between the pair, Halep's experience told as she survived a resilient display from her opponent to run out a 6-4 7-6 victor.
Both players struggled behind their own serve during the opening set, but just the one break of serve made the difference as Halep moved a step closer to her 10th career title.
Halep went a break ahead on three occasions during the second, but each time, Pliskova struck back immediately before eventually forcing a tie-break.
However, the Romanian player held her nerve to take it 7-4 to finally see off the challenge of the 17th seed.
Written by
Darren Plant
Darren Plant
