Ukraine's Elina Svitolina with the Dubai Open trophy after beating Russia's Daria Kasatkina 6-4, 6-0 on Saturday. Pic/AFP

Elina Svitolina joined former world number ones Justine Henin and Venus Williams as a back-to-back Dubai title winner on Saturday with a 6-4, 6-0 cruise past Russia's Daria Kasatkina. Svitolina, the world number four, won her 11th career title. "When they announced our names, they saying that Justine and Venus are the only ones who defended their titles, I was like, 'Okay, c'mon, you have to do this.' It really motivated me," said the Ukrainian.

"I was pleased with how I played this week," said Svitolina. "I expected the unexpected. I'm happy with how I handled the pressure, I was happy with my performance on the court." Svitolina beat Kasatkina for the third time in as many meetings. "It feels great, when I had to play well, I played well. I was serving good, returning well."