Daijiworld Media Network - Doha
Doha, Feb 12: Iga Swiatek rallied from a set down to defeat Daria Kasatkina on Wednesday and keep her quest for a fourth Qatar Open title on track, while Elena Rybakina also stormed into the quarter-finals after a gritty comeback win.
World number two Swiatek overcame Russian-born Australian Kasatkina 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 to set up a clash with Greece’s Maria Sakkari in the last eight. The six-time Grand Slam champion, who lifted the WTA 1000 trophy in Doha in 2022, 2023 and 2024, had won her previous six meetings against Kasatkina without dropping a set but squandered a 5-3 lead in the opener on Wednesday.
Swiatek quickly regrouped, dominating the next two sets with six breaks of serve to seal victory.
“It wasn’t an easy match,” Swiatek said. “She used the slower surface here and she was going for it more compared to our last matches.
“But you never know if it was her just doing that from the beginning, or me giving her more chances. For sure I felt like I could do sometimes more in the first set.”
Swiatek remains on course for a potential rematch in the final against Australian Open champion Rybakina, who had defeated her in their quarter-final encounter in Melbourne last month.
Rybakina, the world number three, also had to come from behind to beat China’s Zheng Qinwen 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 and end the former world number four’s first tournament appearance of the season.
Zheng, runner-up at the 2024 Australian Open, was playing only her second event since undergoing elbow surgery last July. She impressed in the opening set, conceding just four points on serve and breaking once to take control.
However, Rybakina raised her level in the second set, breaking twice to force a decider. She surged to a 5-2 lead in the third and, despite missing a match point and being broken while serving for the match, capitalised when Zheng faltered from 40-0 up on serve. Rybakina eventually secured victory with a powerful backhand to book a quarter-final clash with Canada’s Victoria Mboko.
“In the second I found a bit of my game and I stepped in,” Rybakina said. “In the third… one break and everything changed. But I’m happy that in the end it went my way.”
Mboko, 19, saved a match point to upset fifth seed Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/5) in a battle of teenagers. She survived late pressure before clinching the deciding tie-break.
“I feel like I came out with some very clutch shots at the end,” Mboko said. “We were both pretty tired when it came to the tie-break. I was lucky to hit some good shots in the big moments.”
Elsewhere, last year’s runner-up Jelena Ostapenko brushed aside Colombia’s Camila Osorio 6-3, 6-1 to set up a quarter-final against Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto. The Italian lucky loser followed up her win over Coco Gauff by defeating Ann Li 7-6 (7/5), 5-7, 6-4.
Czech Karolina Muchova advanced after compatriot and former world number one Karolina Pliskova retired injured while trailing 5-2 in the first set of their last-16 clash. Muchova will face Anna Kalinskaya, who beat Australian Open semi-finalist Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-3.
Sakkari earlier eased past France’s Varvara Gracheva 7-6 (7/3), 6-0 to book her meeting with Swiatek as the race for the Doha crown intensifies.