Qatar Open: Swiatek wins, Jabeur cruises and Svitolina outlasts Vondrousova in Doha

Doha (Qatar), Feb 10 (IANS) Former World No.1 Iga Swiatek, the second seed, kept alive her chances of winning a fourth title in the Qatar Open, beating Maria Sakkari of Greece in straight sets in the second round of the event WTA Tour event here on Monday. Swiatek, ranked No.2 in the latest WTA Rankings, defeated Sakkari 6-3,6-2 in a Round of 32 clash of the hard court event.

Poland’s Swiatek, who got a bye in the first round here, has not won a title in eight months, since claiming her fourth title at Roland Garros in five years — the fifth tournament win in less than five months. That fabulous run began in Doha, where Swiatek became the first to win a WTA event for three consecutive years since Serena Williams owned Miami from 2013-15.

Swiatek, who lost to eventual winner Madison Keys in the 2025 Australian Open in Melbourne last month, is looking to become only the second woman this century to win the same tournament four consecutive times, after Caroline Wozniacki in New Haven, from 2008-2011.

Meanwhile, Ons Jabeur and Elina Svitolina won their Round of 64 matches while Leylah Fernandez notched a Top-10 upset to make the next round.

Arab superstar Jabeur thrilled the Doha crowds with a 6-2, 6-0 dismissal of McCartney Kessler on Centre Court. The Tunisian needed just 56 minutes to slice and dice her way past the power-hitting American.

Former World No. 2 Jabeur, the highest-ranked Arab player in tennis history, is making her milestone 10th Doha main-draw appearance this week. She kicked this run off with a bang, winning 89 percent of her second-service points en route to a swift win over 57th-ranked Kessler. A two-time Doha quarterfinalist, Jabeur will need to collect a Top 10 win to make this week’s Round of 16. Jabeur’s next match will be against No. 7 seed Zheng Qinwen of China, their first meeting since the 2023 US Open. Zheng holds a 2-0 lead in their head-to-head.

In a clash between former Top 10 players, Ukraine’s Svitolina shook off a tough first set to overcome Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic 0-6, 6-2, 7-5 in 1 hour and 54 minutes.

Svitolina also had to fight back from an early break down in the third set, and she missed out on one match point at 5-4 before breaking for the win at last. Former World No. 3 Svitolina now holds a slim 4-3 lead in her rivalry with 2023 Wimbledon champion Vondrousova. Next up for Svitolina will be a second-round meeting with No. 6 seed Jessica Pegula of the United States, last year’s US Open runner-up. Pegula leads their head-to-head 4-2, but Svitolina won their most recent meeting at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Fernandez booked a Round of 16 spot with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over No. 8 seed Emma Navarro. World No. 27 Fernandez took only 66 minutes to grab her eighth career Top 10 win. Despite their current rankings, Fernandez has had the upper hand on Navarro in the past. Fernandez leads their tour-level head-to-head 3-1 — and the Canadian also defeated Navarro handily in the 2019 Junior Roland Garros final.

–IANS

bsk/