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Chuang/Jurak win women' s doubles at Dubai tennis open

Xinhua, February 20, 2016 Adjust font size:

Chuang Chia-jung from Chinese Taipei and her partner Darija Jurak from Croatia defeated the French duo Caroline Garcia/Kristina Mladenovic 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday to win the 16th WTA edition of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Chuang and Jurak played for the first time together, but showed superiority especially during fast exchanges and duels at the net. While Garcia/Mladenovic scored some spectacular points, the French tandem did not find a real concept against their opponents.

The 22 year old, 1.84 meter tall blonde Mladenovic, since this winter a resident of Dubai and ranked 30 in the WTA list, failed to break through the agile Chuang who stood like a wall at the net. The world's No. 38 Garcia, on the other hand, appeared exhausted after she lost the tournament's singles semi-final in three sets against Czech player Barbora Strycova.

"They didn't play their best tennis," said Jurak, ranked 188th, adding, "Chuang and me, we also had a lot of luck" .

Earlier in the week, Mladenovic told Xinhua in an exclusive interview that there is no such thing like an easy match at the Dubai Open on hard court.

This led the 31-year old Chuang to say that the Chinese spring festival marking the start of the Year of the Monkey "brought me indeed luck for the double and we look forward to playing the Doha Open together which kicks off tomorrow." In the Chinese zodiac cycle, the monkey symbolizes brilliance, intelligence and a positive attitude towards life.

Asked if the difference in height is a reason why they harmonize so well (Chuang is 1.68 meter tall while Jurak is 12 centimeters taller) on the center court of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, Jurak answered "this could be. Chuang is smaller and faster than I am, while my strengths are services and high balls." Endit