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).
10 - Iga Swiatek has become the fourth player to win 10+ consecutive matches at the Qatar Open since the inception of the tournament in 2001, after Victoria Azarenka (14 wins in a row), Maria Sharapova (12) and Petra Kvitova (also 10). Feeling. #QatarOpen | @WTA @WTA_insider
