Swiatek completes Qatar Open semifinal lineup with win over Sabalenka

Iga Swiatek rallied late in the 2nd set to defeat Aryna Sabalenka 6-2 6-4 for the Qatar Open semifinal.

The Polish player was considered the underdog in this matchup considering that Sabalenka already won this event in her career with Swiatek not having the best of times here in the past. The Polish player quickly crushed those assumptions with a furious start to the match where she took an early 3-0 lead. Swiatek had a double break lead but after that 3-0 start we saw four games in a row where the server got broken.

At the end of it, Swiatek still had a double break lead and she finished off the set with 6-2. The start of the 2nd set saw Sabalenka jump out to a 3-0 lead after a brilliant start where she finally showed what type of tennis she could play. However, it did not last long enough as Sabalenka completely fell apart after that missing badly.

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Swiatek went on a 5-0 run to turn an 0-3 deficit into a 5-3 lead. It happened quite quickly and Sabalenka was left unable to counter the Polish player during that run. The Belarussian player served pretty well overall but found herself unable to create much pressure as Swiatek returned well. It was a typical Swiatek match where things went well and she is in the semifinal.