Greg Garber, Senior Writer 9y

Simona Halep showing fine form

The WTA Dubai event ended with top-seeded Simona Halep prevailing 6-4, 7-6 (4) over the opponent some feel will be the breakthrough 2015 version of Halep -- Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic.

With this week's events in Qatar and Acapulco, here is the up-or-down status of the leading women.

Williams

No.1 Serena Williams: She's played only one match since running the table at the Australian Open -- a Fed Cup win versus Argentina. But she's the only undefeated (8-0) professional, male or female.

Sharapova

No. 2 Maria Sharapova: The other finalist from Melbourne also sat out WTA play over the past three weeks, but found the time to bludgeon the Radwanska sisters in Fed Cup play; she gave Ursula and Agnieszka all of nine games in four sets.

Halep

No. 3 Simona Halep: The No. 1 seed in Dubai played like it, winning her 10th WTA title. And her second of the young season.

Kvitova

No. 4 Petra Kvitova: The No. 2 seed in Dubai went out in the third round, falling to No. 13 Carla Suarez Navarro in three sets. Kvitova won her season opener in Sydney but departed in the third round at the hands of Madison Keys.

Wozniacki

No. 5 Caroline Wozniacki: She was the No. 3 seed in Dubai and ran out to a one-set lead in her semifinal match with Halep, but eventually fell in three sets. It was an awkward 6-1 in the decider.

Ivanovic

No. 6 Ana Ivanovic: The one-time Grand Slam singles champion fell to No. 17 seed Karolina Pliskova in the third round at Dubai. This followed a first-round exit at the Australian Open, courtesy of qualifier Lucie Hradecka.

Bouchard

No. 7 Eugenie Bouchard: A day after accepting a wild card into the Dubai main draw, Bouchard, citing a lingering arm injury, withdrew.

Petkovic

No. 10 Andrea Petkovic: After losing three straight matches Down Under (Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne), Petko rallied to win two Fed Cup matches against Australia, then rolled into the Antwerp final. When Carla Suarez Navarro withdrew, Petkovic played (and lost) to tournament director Kim Clijsters. The good thing? The 5-3 exhibition doesn't count against her record. Not surprisingly, Petkovic lost her first match in Dubai, to Zarina Diyas.

Williams

No. 17 Venus Williams: Mixed results for the Auckland champion, who reached the quarterfinals in Melbourne. Venus took two Fed Cup matches in the U.S. win over Argentina, but lost a third-round match in Dubai to No. 11 seed Lucie Safarova 6-4, 6-2.

Keys

No. 19 Madison Keys: The 20-year-old American is recuperating from a left leg injury sustained at the Australian Open. After reaching her first major semifinal, she hasn't played in three weeks but is scheduled to play in Doha.

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