Stellar Sabalenka defeats Kvitova to win Qatar Total Open 2020

The Qatar Total Open 2020 gave the Doha crowd a very good week of tennis with Sabalenka and Kvitova set to finish it on a high note. Kvitova played well all weekend but she knew what she was facing here.

The 1st set started out pretty well for the Belarussian. She won her game with ease and the proceeded to force the 1st breakpoints of the match. Kvitova rallied not to allow the early break but she capitulated not long after. In the 4th game, Sabalenka broke her opponent to take a 3-1 lead which she could convert into a 6-3 1st victory. She was superb on her own serve hitting it a much higher rate than her opponent. That allowed her a lot of easy and quick points. She only lost 4 points in the entirety of the set after hitting her 1st serve. That allowed to cruise to a 1st victory without allowing Kvitova any breakpoints.

The 2nd set started out slowly for both players but the level quickly raised in the 3rd game. Sabalenka had to battle hard to get through it but she eventually did. Kvitova had 5 break points but failed to win either of those. She played a bit better than Sabalenka but the Belarussian escaped with her serve which has been exceptional the whole day. After that Kvitova was visibly frustrated and she started making mistakes. She made a bunch of those in the 7th game which she lost.

Sabalenka was in prime position to finish the match and win a significant story. Prior to the match, Sabalenka promised to give everything and she delivered.

https://twitter.com/WTA/status/1233792046952894465