Poland’s Iga Swiatek in action against Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova yesterday. Pic: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula
Doha: Iga Swiatek once again proved why she is the reigning World No.1, this time with a dominant 6-0, 6-1 rout of Veronika Kudermetova to seal her second Qatar TotalEnergies Open final in a row.
Yesterday at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex, the Pole made light work of the World No.11 Kudermetova to cruise into today’s title-clash with American World No.4 Jessica Pegula, who took sweet revenge of her Greek counterpart Maria Sakkari in the first semi-final on the day with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 win.
USA’s Jessica Pegula returns the ball to Greece’s Maria Sakkari during the semi-final yesterday. AFP
“I feel great. I was pretty worried how I’m going to cope with the conditions today. So I’m glad that I could really play the smart way. And I’m pretty happy that I was so solid,” a jubilant Swiatek said after having total control against her opponent under chili and breezy conditions at the centre court last night.
Swiatek coped with the conditions well and hit 14 winners to five unforced errors, breaking Kudermetova’s serve five times during her 56-minute victory. She also prevailed in exceptional serving as well, earning 85% of her points on her first serve.
Swiatek, who enjoyed an amazing 135-day, 37-match unbeaten streak following her title win last year in Doha, is bidding to become the first player to defend a title on the WTA Tour in 2023.
Speaking about today’s title clash against Pegula whom she met at the United Cup semis Down Under last month, Swiatek said it is difficult to predict the outcome.
“Well, you know, She’s a great player, a really solid one. And yeah, we’ll see. Honestly, I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m not going to predict anything and over-analyze. I’m just going to go and play my best tennis,” Swiatek, who has the upper hand against Pegula – with a 4-2 record, said.
Secretary General of Qatar Tennis, Squash and Badminton Federation (QTSBF) Tariq Zainal, Qatar TotalEnergies Open doubles winners Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff, runners-up Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko and other officials pose for a group photo after the presentation ceremony. PIC: QTSBF
Swiatek enjoyed a day-off on the previous day, being handed a walkover by Belinda Bencic who withdrew citing “fatigue” after notching a hard-fought victory over Victoria Azarenka in the quarter-finals – days after she won the Abu Dhabi singles title.
Swiatek also noted that she had a glimpse of what Qatar has to offer during her day-off.
“I didn’t actually go far from my hotel, but every day I’m going for a walk in the park right next to the hotel. It’s really nice. And I can see that Qatar is great and for sure they did a great job preparing everything for the World Cup. And I can still see that because still there’s a lot of space. And yeah I really like it here.”
Earlier, Pegula, seeded second behind Swiatek in Doha, battled through windy conditions and a fellow Top 10 opponent to reach the final.
She beat No.5 seed Maria Sakkari 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 in 1 hour and 59 minutes.
The result puts the American into her first final of 2023, her sixth overall.
Prior to yesterday’s match, Pegula was trailing with a 2-4 career record against Sakkari, who last year defeated the American in two sets in the third round before reaching the semis in Doha.
“Thank you, guys, everyone, for bracing these conditions. Thank you for coming out. It really means a lot. It’s already tough enough to play, but with you guys here, it makes it a lot more fun,” Pegula, who later teamed up with compatriot Coco Gauff to win the doubles title with a thrilling 6-4, 2-6, 10-7 win over Ukrainian-Latvian pair Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko, said.
