Dubai: Venus Williams, who won the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships last year as a ‘wild card,’ is in the kind of form that may see her being just the second woman (along with Justine Henin) to win the Dubai title four times.

The world No.1 has just defeated world number six Agnieszka Radwanska to progress to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, carrying on her resurgence from last year.

Last year, she reached the Auckland final before losing to Ana Ivanovic, and holding a match-point against sixth-ranked and then-Dubai champion Petra Kvitova in Doha, she swept to her third Dubai and 45th career title in straight sets, giving up just three games to Alize Cornet in the final. Among the players she beat on her way to the final were Ivanovic as well as former Dubai champion Caroline Wozniacki.

That victory added to the titles she had won in 2009 and 2010, and means that she has an unbeaten streak of 15 matches as she prepares to defend her title next month against eight of the world’s top 10. In her three most recent visits she has dropped just one set, to sister Serena, in a dramatic 2009 semi-final.

“Just to be able to be here and compete was the first thing that made me so happy, and then obviously to play well, win the title and have this wonderful streak here is definitely an accomplishment,” said Venus after collecting her trophy.

She continued on her winning ways after leaving Dubai last year, reaching two more finals and working her way back into the top 20 after beginning the season ranked 49. Her best week came in Montreal, where she beat world number seven Angelique Kerber and then sister Serena in three sets before losing to former Dubai winner Radwanska. She also reached the final in Quebec City where she fell to Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.

“It was wonderful to see Venus Williams win the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for a third time and in such style,” said Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice-Chairman of Dubai Duty Free, the tournament owners and organisers. “She first came to Dubai in 2002 and is playing better here now than she has ever done. It will be very interesting to see if this year she can maintain her remarkable unbeaten run and equal the record four titles held by Justine Henin.”

Although she faces a field equally as challenging as the one at the Australian Open, Venus will go into the defence of her Dubai title with enormous confidence after already adding to her career titles with victory over Wozniacki in the Auckland final. That triumph established her as the fourth oldest winner on the WTA Tour, behind Billie Jean King, Kimiko Date-Krumm and Martina Navratilova.

“By the time you’re 34 you have a lot of experience and if you can stay in shape, stay fit, can move and hit the ball and don’t have five kids at home then why not?” she said after the match. “There’s nothing holding me back from being here and doing well. Of course I can’t play forever. Someone else has to take the torch at some point. While I’m here I’m enjoying it.”

The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free, and held under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Tickets for the event are on sale at the Box Office at the Dubai Tennis Stadium, Garhoud, which is open from 9am to 9pm daily. Grandstand tickets can also be bought online at http://www.timeouttickets.com/. For more information about tickets, prices and the tournament, visit www.dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com.