The Peninsula
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka eased past Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann 6-2, 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the Qatar TotalEnergies Open, which saw No.2 and No.3 seeds tumbling at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, yesterday.
While former champion Sabalenka put up a dominant show over Teichmann to wrap up the win in just 63 minutes, second seed Barbora Krejcikova and third seed Paula Badosa crashed out of the event.
After Teichmann broke Sabalenka to reach 2-2 in the first set, Sabalenka revved up her pace with fierce forehands and returns to grab the next six games to gain a 6-2, 2-0 advantage.
Teichmann tried to get back on the game but a dominant show from Sabalenka sealed off the final four games to seal a quick win.
“It was tough to play against her and I’m really happy with the level of play today,” Sabalenka said after the win.
“I don’t try to look far in the draw. I just try to focus on myself, on each game and try to do my best on each match,” the 2020 Doha champion, added.
Sabalenka will meet Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals as the seventh seeded Polish defeated Daria Kasatkina of Russia 6-3, 6-0 in a one-sided clash.
Krejcikova, meanwhile, had a contrasting fortune as she fell to an in-form Jelena Ostapenko, who won 6-3, 6-2.
After the 1 hour and 13 minutes win, the Latvian, who won the Dubai title last week, equalled her career-best winning streak of eight matches. It was also the fifth win over a Grand Slam champion for Ostapenko in the past two weeks.
Earlier, teenager Cori Gauff clinched her fifth career Top 10 win when she upset Badosa 6-2, 6-3.
The victory, which came in 1 hour and 17 minutes sees, the 17-year-old No.14 seed making it to her fifth quarter-final at WTA 1000 level or above, following Dubai, Rome, Roland Garros and Montreal last year. Sixth seed Maria Sakkari will take on Gauff today as the World No.6 defeated Jessica Pegula 6-4, 7-5 in straight sets.
Meanwhile, two-time Doha finalist Garbine Muguruza dispatched Madison Brengle of the United States 6-0, 6-2 in just 63 minutes to reach the Doha quarter-finals for the fifth time in her career.
Muguruza will meet Ostapenko today in search for a place in the semi-finals.
Also yesterday, Anett Kontaveit of Estonia had to battle hard against former champion Elise Mertens to reach the quarters for the third time in four tournaments this year. Kontaveit, seeded fourth, clinched a hard fought 6-3, 0-6, 6-2 win over No.16 seed Mertens.
“I think the win in St Petersburg gave me confidence but I was feeling very confident on court. Today I had Elise, a tricky opponent for me to play against,” said Kontaveit.
“I haven’t had a good record against her. I was happy how I managed to fight today. After losing the second set, I had to keep elevating my level. I just wanted to play more solid and do better than I did in the second set. I felt like I managed to do that. I fought really well. I was very pleased with the third set.”
The world No.7 will now meet Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, who overcame Tereza Martincova 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in her third round match yesterday.
“Ons and I have played together quite a few times. It’s going to be a very tough match. I am really glad to see her playing after she retired against me in Sydney.”
The Tunisian, a crowd favourite in Doha due to her symbiotic relationship with the Middle East, beat Czech Martincova in a thrilling match, which lasted for 1 hour and 36 minutes to reach Doha quarter-finals for the second time.
“I played very good first set and then for some reason my sister came in and she played instead of me until two zero. And then I, you know, I picked up the racket again. I was playing good. I’m going to give 100 percent and even more every match. I’m looking to play more and more matches,” said Jabeur said before thanking the crowd for support in Arabic.