Victoria Azarenka of Russia arrives wearing a PSG jersey at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex, yesterday. AFP
Two-time champion Victoria Azarenka yesterday kicked off her Qatar TotalEnergies Open campaign with a dominant 6-1, 6-1 win over Ipek Oz.
At the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex last night, Azarenka did her best to justify a wildcard entry by coming out on top in 67 minutes against her Turkish opponent, who faced a top-20 player for the first time in her career.
Azarenka - winner in the 2012 and 2013 editions, went 19-2 up in Doha throughout her career with yesterday’s win. The Belarus star did not forget to credit the World No.187 Oz, who had improved by over 80 spots in the rankings in the last 12 months,
Oz entered the court with a Turkish flag to show support for her country which was rocked by a devastating earthquake earlier this month, and Azarenka said she understands what Oz is going through right now.
“I’m sure it’s very hard for Oz to go out on the court and play right now, considering everything that’s going, so I wish her strength. Hopefully, somehow, someway, things can get better,” Azarenka, who dropped by one spot to 17th in the latest WTA rankings released yesterday, said.
Ipek Oz of Turkey arrives draped in a Turkish national flag. AFP
Azarenka, who came close to a third crown in Doha when she reached the final once again in 2015 before she lost to Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in the title clash, yesterday said she is happy to be back in the Qatari capital.
“It feels good to be back, I like playing here,” Azarenka, who entered the court clad in a Paris Saint-Germain club jersey, said after reaching the Last 16 stage.
Earlier, No.8 seed Veronika Kudermetova held off Barbora Krejcikova 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5) in a thrilling first round encounter which was stretched to three hours.
The nail-biting battle between the Russian-Zcech duo managed to entertain spectators at the Centre-court on the opening day of the main draw action.
Kudermetova, the World No.11, struck fewer winners, compared to her opponent (27 against Krejcikova’s 41), but managed to keep her error count down to 18. The 25-year-old Kudermetova has now won all four tiebreaks she has contested this year.
She will next face either Abu Dhabi runner-up Liudmila Samsonova or wild card Sofia Kenin, who face-off at Grand Stand 1 this evening.
Veronika Kudermetova hits a shot against Barbora Krejcikova during their first round match. Pictures: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula
Earlier, Karolina Muchova advanced 6-2, 6-2 past Roland Garros semifinalist Martina Trevisan in just 79 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a highly sought-after qualifying clash yesterday, former champion Karolina Pliskova outlasted her Canadian opponent Leylah Fernandez 6-2, 7-5 to advance.
The Czech former World No.1 will now meet Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova for a place in the last 16. Joining her in the main round will be the 2019 winner Elise Mertens of Belgium, who defeated Romaninan Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in a thrilling qualifier yesterday.
Swiatek feels ‘pressure’ of being the best
Meanwhile, top seed and World No.1 Iga Swiatek said she sometimes feels the pressure of being the best.
“Sometimes for sure you can feel the pressure and you can feel that every player wants to play the best game against you,” Swiatek said during a press conference, yesterday ahead of her opening match in Doha.
Swiatek, who defeated Anett Kontaveit last year to win her maiden Golden Falcon trophy, will take on US opponent Danielle Collins or Elise Mertens in the Round of 16 this time.
Swiatek enjoyed an incredible winning streak of 37 matches last season before a third-round loss to Alize Cornet at Wimbledon.
Karolina Muchova in action against Martina Trevisan.
Swiatek’s winning run is the longest in the WTA this century, topping legends Venus Williams (35 in 2000), Serena Williams (34 in 2013) and Justine Henin (32 in 2007-08).
However, at the Australian Open last month, the No.1 seed Swiatek fell in the fourth round to Elena Rybakina before she headed to Doha.
“Actually, exactly what I needed was to reset it a little bit. And I knew what I did wrong at Australian Open and over my whole stay in Australia. I really wanted to kind of focus on getting my expectations lower and not expect from myself that I’m going to play perfectly all the time. Because, yeah, last season was so strange, actually, that it can actually mess up with your head a little bit,” she added.
“So I really wanted to get my both feet on the ground, just focus on hard work and what I have to do on court.”
