Townsend and Siniakova set up Australian Open final rematch in Dubai

Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova exhibited their talents and perseverence in a clinical 7-5, 7-5 win against Zhang Shuai and Kristina Mladenovic in the semifinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Friday.

The Czech and American pair broke Zhang and Mladenovic first, en route to taking the opening set in 12 games. The top seeds maintained their momentum in the second and sealed the victory after 12 more games when Mladenovic sent a shot wide, handing the Chinese and French duo a second defeat, following their previous meeting at this year's Australian Open.

In the other semifinal, Chinese Taipei's Hsieh Su-Wei and Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko weathered a fierce challenge from Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan. The Chinese duo stormed back from a set down to send the match into a super tiebreak, but Hsieh's wizardry at the net proved decisive in a 6-4, 4-6, 10-2 thriller.

Saturday's final promises more fireworks, as Hsieh and Ostapenko seek redemption against the same Townsend and Siniakova pairing that denied them Grand Slam glory at Melbourne Park in January.