Venus Williams to defend Dubai title after beating Israel’s Peer in semifinal

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Venus Williams to defend Dubai title, beats Peer

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Venus Williams has ended Israeli Shahar Peer’s run at the Dubai Tennis Championships with a 6-1, 6-4 victory in the semifinals.

The defending champion and third seed needed 1 hour, 23 minutes Friday to defeat Peer, who was not allowed to play in the tournament a year ago when she was denied a visa by the United Arab Emirates government, citing security reasons.

Dubai organizers were fined $300,000 by the WTA for not allowing Peer to play in the event.

Williams will now take on the winner of the semifinal played later Friday between fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and seventh-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.