FROM LEFT: Julia Gorges of Germany, Barbora Strycova of Czech Republic, Oman’s Fatma Al Nabhani, Tournament Director Saad Saleh Al Mohannadi, Managing Director of Total E&P Golfe and Group Representative Laurent Wolffsheim, Qatar Tennis Federation (QTF) S
Former champion Simona Halep of Romania will take on the winner of the first-round match between Caroline Garcia of France and Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine in the second round of this week’s Qatar Total Open, it was revealed at yesterday’s draw ceremony.
Halep, the 2014 champion, is the top seed of the tournament. The Romanian, ranked three in the world, is one of the four seeded players to have got a bye into the second round.
World No.5 Karolína Pliskova of the Czech Republic, seeded second and winner here in 2017, along with three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber, a 2014 finalist, are the top three seeds in Doha while Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, currently ranked World No.7, is the fourth seed of the WTA tournament.
The six-day event will be held from February 11 to 16 at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex.
If Halep, a three-time Grand Slam champion, emerges on top in the Garcia/Tsurenko clash, she will take on winner of the match between two qualifiers and Petra Martic of Croatia/Ashleigh Barty of Australia in the third round.
Yesterday’s draw ceremony held at the Four-Seasons Hotel saw the attendance of Julia Gorges of Germany, Barbora Strycova of Czech Republic and Oman’s Fatma Al Nabhani.
The ceremony, conducted by Tournament Supervisor Tony Cho, was attended by Qatar Tennis Federation (QTF) Secretary General and General Coordinator of Qatar Total Open Tariq Darwish Zainal, Tournament Director Saad Saleh Al Mohannadi, QTF Board Member Karim Alami and top officials from Total Qatar led by Laurent Wolffsheim, Managing Director of Total E&P Golfe and Group Representative.
Interestingly, Fatma, a wildcard entrant, will be squaring up against Strycova in the first round tomorrow while Gorges will have to overcome Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova, the seventh seed, for any hope of a second-round appearance.
Meanwhile, 2016 French Open semi-finalist Kiki Bertens of Netherlands, the fifth-seed, was drawn against Italy’s Camila Giorgi while Caroline Wozniacki, a two-time finalist (2011 and 2017) will equally have to wait until the second round before engaging an opponent as she also got a bye.
“The draw is quite interesting and I’m prepared to give it my best shot. Strycova is a very good player and I’m sure the match won’t be easy but I think anything can happen on the court. I’ve always loved to play in this tournament and I’ve enjoyed every of my participation here. I hope to go as far as possible in the tournament,” Fatma said yesterday.
Held since 2001, the Qatar Total Open has grown to become one of the biggest WTA Tour events in the region and it has consistently featured the world’s top ten players on a regular basis. The last edition was won by Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova who recorded her 13th consecutive victory by beating Spaniard Garbine Muguruza 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a highly entertaining encounter.
