All players she was defeating this year were right handed. But she played very well against Kvitova, was dominating the rallies in parts of the first set before losing confidence a bit.
Its not unrealistic to suppose that there will be some withdrawals in Dubai so that she'll be seeded.
I guess it was a bit more than just a solid win. She's left handed and Mandy first had to adept to. It took some time to find the rhythm and she was break behind after she wasted several game points and not hold her first service game. But then she did so well and was tough enough to dominate the match till the end. Only three games she admitted to her opponent after 0/2 in the first set. Today she didn't need any ace but had two double faults, both in the first service game. After this her serve was NID besides only one bp. Some further stats:
Totally points 63-38
Service points 34/48
Max points in a row 8
Break points converted 5/10
Of course she was favourite but she has such a huge pressure coz of AO MD.
She needs some further wins to gain some points for the ranking. GL Mandy
Good for Mandy that Larcher de Brito was losing today. She's a direct ranking neighbour of Mandy and could now be passed by her (like some others too).
Winning this tournament Mandy could already get in the range she needs for AO!
Yes Mandy plays well infront of a big crowd playing a big name. For example Kvitova, Stephens, Wozniacki, Serena all these matches she made pretty competitive. But then she could lose to a nobody the next week. .