Sakkari and Kasatkina reach last 16

Top-ranked players yesterday cleared first hurdles to reach the Round of 16 of the Qatar TotalEnergies Open on a day that produced disappointing results for two former champions in Doha.

World No.7 Maria Sakkari, No.8 Daria Kasatkina and No.9 Belinda Bencic were among the players to clinch victories while Elise Mertens and Karolina Pliskova, who claimed titles in the past at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex, were knocked out yesterday.

Fifth seed Sakkari, however, survived a scare to advance into the last 16. 

She battled past 24th-ranked Zheng Qinwen of China 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in two hours and 9 minutes to book a meeting against Ekaterina Alexandrova, who eliminated Pliskova, in the second round.

Sakkari won their previous duel in straight sets at the 2022 Australian Open, but this time she had to dig deep against last season’s WTA Newcomer of the Year Zheng.

Zheng’s 28 winners doubled Sakkari’s 14, but the Greek found more chances to break Zheng’s serves, going 4-for-7 on break points.

Sakkari had to overcome a second-set comeback by Zheng, during which one of the most impressive points of this season so far – called Zheng Tweener by the experts - was produced.

However, Sakkari rebounded, earning an important break point at 2-1 in the third set. Zheng double faulted on the next point to drop serve, and Sakkari eased home from there, setting up a last 16 clash against 18th-ranked Alexandrova.

Meanwhile, Bencic, who captured eighth career singles title – her second title of the year in Abu Dhabi just two days before, was hardly challenged by Bulgarian opponent Viktoriya Tomova at the Center Court as the Swiss seventh seed easily bagged a 6-0, 6-1 win in just 58 minutes. 

It was her 13th win of the season, having lost only two matches so far in 2023, to World No.1 Iga Swiatek at United Cup and Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open.

Switzerland's Belinda Bencic returns the ball to Bulgaria's Viktoriya Tomova during their women's singles match.

Against Tomova, Bencic saved all three break points she faced and won 89 percent of Tomova’s second-service points (16 of 18).

Bencic will now take on former World No.1 and two-time champion Victoria Azarenka, who defeated Turkish Ipek Oz on Monday, in last 16. 

In a late-night match at the Centre Court, No.6 seed Kasatkina overcame Canadian qualifier Rebecca Marino 7-6(5), 6-2 in 1 hour and 41 minutes.

Marino prevented Kasatkina from hitting a single winner in a 65-minute first set, but Kasatkina was came back from 4-1 down in the tiebreak to grit out the one-set lead.

Kasatkina’s heavy forehands kept her in front for the majority of the second set as sealed the victory, converting her fourth match point in the final game.

Awaiting Kasatkina in the second round is World No.12 Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil who defeated top 20 player Paula Badosa with a scoreline of 7-6(6), 6-3.

Meanwhile, Mertens - the winner of the prestigious Golden Falcon trophy in 2019 - was beaten by American Danielle Collins 6-4, 7-6 (6). 

The win means Collins will play in one of the most challenging matches in her career - against the World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the next round. That was before former World No.1 Pliskova, the winner of the Doha event in 2017, suffered a 6-1, 6-2 loss in the hands of Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Former finalist Jelena Ostapenko, meanwhile, advanced to the second round with a straight-sets win (7-5, 6-2) against Madison Keys, while the 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin posted her first Top 20 win since 2020, against Abu Dhabi finalist Liudmila Samsonova 6-3, 6-1 in 1 hour and 29 minutes.

The remaining Top 10 players in the field - World No.1 Iga Swiatek, No.4 Jessica Pegula, No.5 Caroline Garcia and No.6 Coco Gauff - have byes into the second round as the Top 4 seeds, and will play their first matches today.