Iga Swiatek of Poland reacts after scoring a point against Maria Sakkari of Greece. AFP
Doha: Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek made a dominant start to her Qatar TotalEnergies Open title defence yesterday, when she brushed aside Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-2 to reach the third round.
The Polish world number two, who is aiming for a record-equalling fourth consecutive title at the prestigious WTA 1000 event, defeated the Greek in 78 minutes to seal the win on Centre Court at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.
"Maria is a great player, and I have a lot of respect for her. We’ve already played many important matches, so facing her in the second round was tricky," Swiatek said after defeating the former World No.2.
"Honestly, I’m used to challenging draws at these kind of tournaments because they have smaller fields. You can easily face a Grand Slam champion in the first round, so I was ready from the beginning and prepared for a battle," Swiatek said, highlighting the fierce competition.
Swiatek, who enjoys a magnificent record in Doha, have now won 13 matches in a row. Last year, she became the first to win a WTA event for three consecutive years since Serena Williams triumphed in Miami from 2013-15.
Swiatek said Doha feels like a second home.
Ons Jabeur of Tunisia returns the ball to McCartney Kessler of the USA.
"Since 2022, whenever I come here, I feel like I can really focus on my work. Everything is so well organised, and although the conditions can be a little tricky, we have everything we need to practice and spend time on court. Thank you all for supporting us and coming out every year. It’s great to play in front of you, and hopefully I’ll be able to stay here as long as possible."
The 23-year-old yesterday fought back early in the opening set, recovering from 2-3 down to bag seven games in a row en route to a 6-3, 3-0 lead.
Sakkari stopped the run with a hold of serve in the fifth game of the second set, but Swiatek eventually turned the match in her favour with a clinical service game as Sakkari sent a return wide.
Swiatek will meet either Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan or rising Czech talent Linda Noskova in the round of 16.
Meanwhile, crowd favourite Ons Jabeur delighted her fans with a one-sided 6-2, 6-0 victory over American McCartney Kessler in just 56 minutes.
Playing in her milestone 10th main-draw appearance at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open, the former World No. 2 was happy to be back at the venue.
"Yes. It's been 13 years of hard work and a lot of self-belief. I'm truly honoured to be Tunisian and Arab, to come to this beautiful country, and to represent as best I can. I'm trying my best, and I hope I'm doing well,"Jabeur said.
"It's wonderful to see the crowd. I remember back in 2020 when the atmosphere was like this and everyone was chanting. Thank you for making me relive this beautiful moment," Jabeur said.
Jabeur next faces No. 7 seed and the reigning Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen of China.
While Jabeur is seeking her first Top 10 win of the season to reach the Round of 16, Zheng leads their head-to-head 2-0, with both wins coming in 2023.
Canada’s Leylah Fernandez also made headlines by storming into the Round of 16 earlier in the day, toppling No. 8 seed Emma Navarro 6-2, 6-2. The win, Fernandez's eighth career Top 10 victory, also extended her record over Navarro. The Canadian now leads their head-to-head record 3-1, having also beaten the American in the 2019 Junior Roland Garros final.
Earlier, the 20-year-old Noskova notched an impressive 6-2, 6-4 win over 15th seed Donna Vekic in the first round, while Putintseva edged out Moyuka Uchijima in three sets.
Russian 10th seed Daria Kasatkina demolished Polina Kudermetova 6-0, 6-0 in just 42 minutes to set up a last-32 meeting with Armenia's Elina Avanesyan.
Jelena Ostapenko also cruised into round two, beating Japanese qualifier Aoi Ito 6-2, 6-1.
In the meantime, Spain's No. 9 seed Paula Badosa had to battle her way into the second round. She beat lucky Zarazua of Mexico 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in 1 hour and 47 minutes. The victory marked Badosa’s first win since reaching her maiden Grand Slam semi-final at the Australian Open. Badosa was originally scheduled to face Katerina Siniakova, but the Czech withdrew mid-day due to an injury.
