Kontaveit and Ostapenko move on in Doha

Anett Kontaveit and Jelena Ostapenko move on at the Qatar Open in Doha following wins over Krejcikova and Mertens.

Kontaveit was the first on the courts taking on Elise Mertens and the Estonian proved better in a fairly competitive 3-set match. Kontaveit started off the match in better fashion hitting the ball really hard. Mertens is not the most offensive player and she struggled to defend against that initially losing the opening set 3-6.

In the 2nd set, Kontaveit started missing badly and completely got out of rhythm losing the set 0-6. It was something Kontaveit needed to forget quickly and she was able to. Kontaveit cruised in the final set winning it 6-2 to move on.

Jelena Ostapenko stepped out later than Kontaveit but finished her match earlier ahs she mostly dominated in the match against Krejcikova. The Czech player struggled immensely in this match never quite finding her rhythm. That's quite odd for Krejcikova who is usually fairly consistent both from the baseline and generally during the season.

Ostapenko once again demonstrated tremendous ball-striking ability dominating rallies from the start of the match. Krejcikova was forced on the defensive end and she did not do it well enough. The final score was 6-2 6-3 with Ostapenko enjoying one of the best stretches of her career.