DUBAI: Stan Wawrinka won his ninth straight final with a 6-4, 7-6 (15/13) defeat of Marcos Baghdatis to earn the Dubai Tennis Championship trophy on Saturday.

The French Open champion from Switzerland claimed the 13th title of his career and second of the season after Chennai, improving to 13-2 in 2016.

The match lasted for almost two hours, with Wawrinka saving five set points and winning when a Baghdatis return went wide on a fourth match point.

The 30-year-old came to the emirate as second seed having not played the tournament in eight years and without a match win until getting through the first round.

“I’m really happy to get the trophy, this was my best match of the week, I’m happy with my level today,” said Wawrinka, who lost a 4-1 lead in the tiebreaker.

“I had to fight until the end — it was a quite crazy tiebreaker.”

Wawrinka, the world No.4, lost his last final in June, 2013 at the grasscourt event at ‘s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands.

“I’ve had a great run at finals. When I get to them I really want to win. You are carrying a lot of confidence from during the week,” he said.

“I’ve always wanted to come back to Dubai, I was last here a long time ago. I lifted my level during the week and improved every day.”

Wawrinka had to fight through the growing tension in what became one of the tightest finishes in the the event’s 24-year-history.

Baghdatis now stands 0-5 in finals since winning his last title at Sydney in 2010.

The Cypriot has now lost all six times he has faced Wawrinka.

Navarro secures Qatar title

Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro came from a set behind against Latvian teenager Jelena Ostapenko on Saturday to win the Qatar Open, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro came from a set behind against Latvian teenager Jelena Ostapenko on Saturday to win the Qatar Open, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Suarez Navarro, who is also through to the doubles final later in Doha on Saturday, overcame a bruising first set to eventually triumph.

It was only the world No. 11’s second ever WTA singles title and sweet revenge for the Spaniard after she was knocked out of Wimbledon last year by Ostapenko.

She receives a winner’s check of of $518,500.

Tomic enters final

Australia’s Bernard Tomic qualified for his fifth ATP Tour final by defeating Alexandr Dolgopolov 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the semifinals of the Mexico Open on Friday.

The fifth seeded Tomic posted his first win over Dolgopolov since the 2012 Australian Open.

“I am very happy to be in the final now,” Tomic said. “He is very tough. You just have to stay with him in the match.

“His level of play was too good in the first set. So I knew I had to stay with him and take advantage of my opportunities.”

Tomic, who had to overcome a slow start as he lost his serve three times in the first set, is 3-1 in career finals.

This is his first final since he won in Bogota last year. His opponent will be Austria’s Dominic Thiem, who ousted Sam Querrey 6-2, 6-2 in the other semifinal.

The women’s final will be a showdown between Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova and Sloane Stephens of the United States. Cibulkova easily beat American Christina McHale 6-3, 6-3 while Stephens cruised past Yanina Wickmayer of Germany 6-2, 6-0 in the semis.