The number one in the WTA ranking, Iga Swiatek This Wednesday he reached the quarterfinals of the Doha tournament (Qatar) by defeating the Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova by 6-1 and 6-4, leaving him just two steps from the final.
Swiatek has his best weapon on serve: 100% of break points are saved, compared to 50% of his rival.
In both sets, Alexandrova’s lack of precision propelled the 22-year-old Pole to victory. After failing to serve in the second and sixth games of the first set, the Russian was forced to return, but the favorite on the Qatari court seemed so determined to eliminate his rival that there was no room for him to get close.
The Pole’s opponent in the quarterfinals will be Belarusian Victoria Azarenkawho defeated Latvian Jelena Ostapenko in the final match of the day, 6-0 and 6-3.
Also, Czech Marketa Vondrousova, the sixth seed, lost to Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 7-5, 6-3.
An hour and 51 minute match between two rivals who already know each other’s game. They met twice, in 2021 at the WTA 500 tournament in Chicago, and at the Moscow tournament, in both cases, Vondrousova won.
The former world number 11 (2011) was more effective on serve, with only two losses, compared to the Czech’s four, with 75% of breaks saved.
Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova will face American Danielle Collins in the quarterfinals, who defeated world number 42, Czech Katerina Siniakova 6-4, 6-3.
The excessive loss of serve by both tennis players saw an unbalanced match: a total of twelve breaks, five from Collins and seven from the doubles star.
In addition, Canadian Leylah Fernández, who defeated Spaniard Paula Badosa in the second round, reached the round of 16 by defeating the fifth favorite on the Qatari hard court, Chinese Qinwen Zheng (no. 7 WTA) by 7-5 and 6 -3.
An hour and a half of the match was enough for the North American to close the score in his favor. In the first set, after 5-5, the Chinese found himself in danger on two occasions (in the tenth and twelfth games), which allowed Fernández to take the lead and make it 7-5.
Already in the second set, the current number 38 in the world rankings had an easier time, taking advantage of a mistake by his rival to close out the set with a clear 6-3.
In the quarterfinals Leylah Fernández will face fourth in the world and third favorite of the UAE tournament, Kazakh Elena Rybakina.
Rybakina sealed her passage to the next round after ending the path of American Emma Navarro (no. 23 WTA) by 6-1, 6(6)-7 and 6-4, in two hours and twelve minutes of the match.
Navarro, who is at the peak of her career, in the highest position she has achieved in the WTA table, tried to overcome the Kazakh in the second set, which led to a tie-break, and closed 7-6( 6) in her favor; but in the third set she couldn’t handle Rybakina’s pressure because she compromised on her own serve.
Elena Rybakina signed her second victory over Emma Navarro. They already faced each other in 2019 at the US Open.
On the other hand, the Czech Karolina Pliskova, former world number 1 (2017) and current number 59, defeated her compatriot Linda Noskova (number 28 WTA), in just two hours, 3-6, 7-5 and 6 -1.
It was the first time they had met, and although the 19-year-old started with lightning power and a set advantage, she was unable to hold off an experienced Pliskova.
In the quarterfinals there will be a rivalry between the former number one. Karolina Pliskova against Japan’s Naomi Osaka, who sealed her pass after Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko withdrew, due to an elbow injury that prevented her from continuing in the dispute.
Source: La Verdad
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