World No.1 Iga Swiatek's attempt to win three straight Qatar TotalEnergies Open titles is still alive after a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Victoria Azarenka in Thursday's quarterfinals.
In a matchup between a pair of two-time Doha champions, Swiatek needed 1 hour and 14 minutes to oust former World No.1 Azarenka and reach the semifinals. Swiatek is now 3-1 lifetime against Azarenka, with wins in their past three meetings.
In the semifinals, Swiatek will face another former World No.1 when she takes on Karolina Pliskova. The 2017 Doha champion Pliskova defeated yet another former World No.1 in the nightcap quarterfinal, squeaking past Naomi Osaka 7-6(6), 7-6(5).
Pliskova continues her own current winning streak on tour. With her 1-hour and 43-minute victory over Osaka, the Czech has won her last nine matches -- in the last 10 days .
Looking ahead to their semifinal showdown, Swiatek is 3-0 against Pliskova, including two wins last year.
Swiatek streak continues: Top-seeded Swiatek is up to 11 straight match-wins at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open. Overall, her career win-loss record at the event is 12-1, with her only defeat coming in the 2020 second round to Svetlana Kuznetsova.
"I felt like I started a little bit playing too aggressively maybe, but then I found my rhythm and the proper way to play," Swiatek said about her win over Azarenka. "I kept it till the end of the match. I'm happy that I could analyze during the match and then take a lesson from that."
Like Swiatek, Azarenka won her Doha titles back-to-back, over a decade ago in 2012 and 2013. Azarenka brought her Doha championship experience to the first set and was a point away from breaking Swiatek for a 5-3 lead.
But the top seed got out of that jam, then earned a break point of her own at 4-4 behind a barrage of blistering backhands. Azarenka double faulted to cede that game and put Swiatek up a break, and the Pole routinely served out the set from there.
The second set was much more straightforward, as Swiatek romped through it without facing a break point. Swiatek went 5-for-6 on break points on the day, and she ended the match with 17 winners to just five from Azarenka.
Swiatek is still bidding to become the first player to win a Hologic WTA Tour event three consecutive times since Serena Williams prevailed at the Miami Open in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
No comments:
Post a Comment