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Svitolina saves best shot for last to win Dubai title

The Ukrainian took out Caroline Wozniacki in the final.

Published Feb 26, 2017

Elina Svitolina saved her best shot of the week for last in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final on Saturday.

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What a backhand winner from @ElinaSvitolina to win biggest career title! 😱 #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/TqMokQPRbZ
— wta (@WTA) February 25, 2017

The laser-like winner that she hit off of her outside leg not only clinched the biggest title of her career, but will propel her into the Top 10 of the rankings for the first time on Monday.

The Ukrainian, still only 22 years old, claimed her sixth career title with her victory over a resurgent Caroline Wozniacki, 6-4, 6-2.

So happy with a @WTA tittle number 6️⃣ 👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼💪🏼 @DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/GNXMnrP9IH
— Elina Svitolina (@ElinaSvitolina) February 25, 2017

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But the win means even more for Svitolina—the 2015 French Open quarterfinalist became the first Ukrainian in WTA Tour history to break into the Top 10.

.@ElinaSvitolina becomes first 🇺🇦 to reach the Top 10 in #WTA history! pic.twitter.com/gxeYMDvdMz
— wta (@WTA) February 25, 2017

The scary part for the rest of the tour is that Svitolina’s rise may not be done just yet. She has beaten three players ranked inside the Top 3 (Serena Williams, Angelique Kerber and Garbine Muguruza) a total of five times since August, including a victory over the German during her run in Dubai.

For now, Svitolina can spend a moment to enjoy her title — and maybe rewatch the highlights of her hot shot, too.

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