Poland’s Iga Swiatek hits a return against Australia's Daria Kasatkina. (AFP)
Doha, Qatar: World No. 2 Iga Swiatek battled back from a set down to defeat Daria Kasatkina yesterday to stay on course for a fourth Qatar TotalEnergies Open title, advancing to the quarter-finals in Doha.
The top seed, Swiatek recovered from a set down to overcome a stiff challenge by the Russian-born Australian with a score of 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 in a two-hour and 17-minute affair at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.
“It wasn’t an easy match,” Swiatek said after the win over the World No.61 Kasatkina.
“Even in the second and third sets, I had to do a lot to win rallies against Daria. I think I gave her more chances. She used the slower surface here and she was going for it more compared to the last matches,” Swiatek said.
“I felt like I could have done more in the first set. I didn’t really adjust well to the colder conditions and the wind. For sure, it’s a lesson for the next days.”
Swiatek, who lifted the Doha title three consecutive times from 2022 to 2024, has now reached the quarter-finals for the fifth time in her career. Only Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki and Agnieszka Radwanska have better records than her, reaching the last eight in Doha six times each.
Swiatek will now face Greece’s Maria Sakkari, the former world No. 3, who advanced after cruising past France’s Varvara Gracheva 7-5, 6-0.
“Iga is very solid but at the same time she’s very aggressive,” Sakkari said of her next opponent.
“She moves the ball really well. She moves very well on the court. She doesn’t give you many errors. So it’s going to be a huge challenge for me. When we played last year here, it was an easy score but it wasn’t an easy match,” Sakkari recalled.
No.2 seed Elena Rybakina also progressed, overcoming China’s Qinwen Zheng 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in their third round match, which lasted almost two and half hours last night.
Earlier, Canadian World No. 13 Victoria Mboko and Russian Mirra Andreeva, ranked seventh, faced off for the second time this season.
They first met in last month’s Adelaide International final, where the 18-year-old Russian prevailed in straight sets, but it was the Canadian No. 10 seed who succeeded this time in Doha.
Mboko, aged 19, won 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5) in 2 hours and 10 minutes in a tense tiebreak, marking a growing rivalry between two of the WTA Tour’s brightest young talents.
“I think we both were pretty tired when it came to the tie-break. I think I felt like I was lucky enough to have some good shots in the great moments,” Mboko said.
Mboko will next face Rybakina for a place in the semi-finals. Last year’s runner-up, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia also advanced, beating Colombia’s Camila Osorio 6-3, 6-1 to set up a last-eight tie with Elisabetta Cocciaretto.Italy’s Cocciaretto edged Ann Li of the United States 7-6(7-5), 5-7, 6-4 in a tight three-set battle. Karolina Pliskova was forced to retire injured just 38 minutes into her contest against Karolina Muchova, bringing an early end to their clash.
