Three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek on Thursday advanced to the semi-finals of the Qatar Open with a straight-sets win over last year’s runner-up Elena Rybakina.
Second seed Swiatek staved off a fightback from the fifth-seeded Kazakh in the second set to win 6-2, 7-5.
Ekaterina Alexandrova continued her impressive form against sixth seed Jessica Pegula, winning 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, having eliminated world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the second round.
Photo: AFP
After the exits of Rybakina and Pegula, Swiatek is the last survivor among the Doha seeds.
“I’m super happy and proud of myself, in the second set I felt she lifted her level,” Swiatek said.
She next plays Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, who eased past Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, a former world No. 2, 6-2, 6-2.
“I need to be prepared for some tricky shots, but I have some myself,” added five-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek, who is bidding for a 23rd WTA Tour title, but her first since the French Open in June last year.
Swiatek easily won the first set against Rybakina after breaking her rival’s serve twice, but the Pole was broken at the start of the second and struggled to catch up for a long time, missing five break points before finally finding the opening to get back to 4-4.
A break at 6-5 in favor of Swiatek, sealed by a double fault from Rybakina, secured victory for the Pole.
Alexandrova, ranked 26th, extended her winning run to eight matches following her triumph in Linz, Austria, at the start of this month.
The Russian struggled in the first set against Pegula, twice dropping serve and paying for four double faults, but she took control thereafter and allowed her opponent just two more games as she eased through to the last four.
“I just play every single match and every single point, and I don’t think about the future,” said the 30-year-old, who is hunting a sixth career WTA Tour title.
She is to meet Amanda Anisimova for a place in the final after the American beat Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.
“It’s step by step and I am glad that policy is working out as I feel amazing. Being in [the] semis is just great,” Alexandrova said. “When I saw the draw I thought maybe I will not get very far. I’m really happy with the way I’m playing right now and I want to keep it as long as possible — no matter what.”
In the women’s doubles, Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and Jiang Xinyu of China advanced to the semi-finals after their quarter-final opponents, Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Veronika Kudermetova of Russia, pulled out.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Two people died on Thursday after fans and police clashed outside the Estadio Monumental in Santiago ahead of a game in South America’s Copa Libertadores, Chilean authorities said. The fatalities happened shortly before the match between Chile’s Colo-Colo and Brazilian club Fortaleza, when police blocked about 100 fans when they attempted to enter the stadium. There were conflicting accounts of how the fatalities occurred, with local media reporting that one of the dead was a 13-year-old boy. The other victim was an 18-year-old woman, according to a relative at the hospital where she was treated. The fans died after being caught underneath a
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
RSS