Sabalenka produces exceptional display to move into Qatar Total Open Final with victory over Kuznetsova

Friday, 28 February 2020 at 16:57

Aryna Sabalenka is into the final at the Qatar Total Open and will take on either Ashleigh Barty or Petra Kvitova after seeing off Svetlana Kuznetsova in an impressive display.

Sabalenka claimed a 6-4, 6-3 victory over the Russian who up to this point had not lost a set in her brilliant run at the Qatar Total Open which means she will likely rise up into the top 32 by Roland Garros.

It is a first final of the year for the Belarusian ace and her third Premier 5 final which is her first outside Wuhan where she has won the last two titles and been so dominant.

The World No.13 proved the stronger of the two throughout the contest with her power and consistency very much evident against the Russian who could not reproduce her brilliance that she showed against Bencic.

She looked vulnerable on her own serve which saw Sabalenka claim three breaks in the opening set and hit 73 percent of her first serve. This meant that Kuznetsova faced a break point in all but three of her service games.

Sabalenka then won the first three games of the second set after claiming the last two of the requisite set and while Kuznetsova stopped the rot with three holds, Sabalenka pushed her serve to the limit in the final game to claim the win.

https://twitter.com/WTA/status/1233413920624238592?s=20

Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief

Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.

Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.

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