Qatar Open: Iga Swiatek through to quarter-finals, Elena Rybakina survives scare as Zheng Qinwen knocked out
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ByOli Gent
Published 14/02/2024 at 20:50 GMT
Iga Swiatek is into the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open after making light work of Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 14th seed, in Doha. The Polish world No. 1 needed just over an hour and a half to beat the Russian, after Swiatek had lost four match points in her final service game. Elsewhere, Elena Rybakina advanced after surviving a scare, while fifth seed Zheng Qinwen was knocked out.
Swiatek admits it's 'not easy being defending champion' as she goes for Doha three-peat
Iga Swiatek made light work of Ekaterina Alexandrova to advance into the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open in Doha.
The Polish No. 1 seed needed an hour and 31 minutes to defeat the Russian 14th seed, downing her 6-1 6-4.
It was not entirely plain sailing for Swiatek, who had to fend off three separate break point flurries from Alexandrova, who threatened with her powerful hitting from the back of the court.
In the final game of the match, Swiatek spurned four match point opportunities, sandwiched by two break-back chances for Alexandrova, but the world No.1 converted her fifth to continue her excellent record at this tournament - 11-1 - with the Pole yet to drop a set since her first-round clash against Viktorija Golubic in 2022.
Swiatek will play the winner of Jelena Ostapenko and Victoria Azarenka in the last eight.
Elsewhere, Elena Rybakina survived a scare against Emma Navarro to beat the American No. 16 seed 6-1 6-7(6) 6-4.
Rybakina, the world No. 4, had two chances to put the match to bed, with her first match point coming over an hour before the second.
The 2022 Wimbledon champion raced through the first set 6-1, before coming back from 3-1 down to take the second to a tiebreak.
The Kazakh led 4-0 before dropping five consecutive points, and made it to a match point, but lost her nerve at the crucial time as Navarro, the world No. 23, roared back to level the scores.
The pivotal break came at 2-2 in the decider, as Rybakina found her rhythm again from the baseline, and she powered through to the last eight, taking the third set 6-4.
Rybakina will play Leylah Fernandez in the next round, after the unseeded Canadian, who Emma Raducanu defeated in the 2021 US Open final, shocked Zheng Qinwen, the fifth seed.
Zheng, , was beaten 7-5 6-3 in one hour and 32 minutes as Fernandez came from 5-3 down in the first set to defeat her fellow Grand Slam finalist, who racked up 29 unforced errors throughout the encounter.
Naomi Osaka, the former world No. 1, is also into the quarter-finals after she received a walkover victory from Lesia Tsurenko, who shocked Ons Jabeur in the previous round.
The returning Japanese player is back on the WTA tour after missing the latter stages of 2022 and the entirety of the 2023 calendar due to maternity leave, but Osaka has spoken of her desire to come back and stake her claim back at women’s tennis’ top table.
Osaka will face Karolina Pliskova, another former world No. 1, in the last eight in Doha.
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