World No. 1
Iga Swiatek defeated
Ekaterina Alexandrova (No. 19) 6-1, 6-4, advancing to the
quarterfinals of the
Qatar Open. The 22-year-old Polish player dominated the
match from the start but had to overcome a resilient Alexandrova, who fought
hard for every point.
Swiatek
entered Doha with the mission of defending her 2023 title and started with a
convincing victory over Sorana Cirstea (No. 22) with a score of 6-1, 6-1. On
the other hand, Alexandrova arrived in good form after reaching the final of
the Linz Open last week and, in Qatar, defeated Victoria Tomova (No. 64) and
Erika Andreeva (No. 106).
In the
first game of the match, Swiatek faced doubts with her serve, conceding two
break points to her opponent. However, she managed to escape unscathed and
later seized her first break opportunity. Swiatek quickly took a 3-0 lead,
dominating the exchanges from the baseline against the Russian.
The 4-times
Grand Slam champion secured a second break in her favor in the sixth game and
ultimately won the set 6-1 in 31 minutes. Swiatek capitalized on Alexandrova's
service troubles, as she only had a 50% first-serve percentage and won 56% of
those points. On the other hand, Swiatek reached a 69% first-serve percentage,
winning 72% of them.
The second
set began with Alexandrova having the advantage through her serve and putting
pressure on the Polish player, holding four break points in the second game
that she couldn't capitalize on. It was evident that the Russian improved her
level, engaging in more equal exchanges with Swiatek.
A break in
the seventh game in favor of the world No. 1 gave her the advantage she needed
against a strong-serving Alexandrova in the second set. With Swiatek's advantage, the Polish player went to close the match, and with the score at 5-4, she played the most contested game of the match, where she wasted four match points and saved two break points before concluding the match with a score of 6-1, 6-4.
With this
win, the Polish player advances to the quarterfinals and will face the winner
of the match between Victoria Azarenka (No. 31) and the 8th seed Jelena
Ostapenko (No. 11).
