‘Better and better’ Iga Swiatek moves closer to Doha-Dubai double tennis news

Iga Swiatek is one step closer to claiming a rare Doha-Dubai double thanks to a stunning 6-3, 6-2 quarterfinal win over Chinese sixth seed Zheng Qianwen on Thursday in the UAE. The world number one, who lifted the trophy for the third consecutive time in Doha last Saturday, extended her unbeaten run to seven matches and is bidding to become the first woman since 2007 and the third woman overall to win both Gulf tournaments. Same season.

This was their sixth meeting in a 20-month period, with Swiatek taking the lead when needed and improving to 6–0 lifetime against Zheng.

“I’m happy that I played well, stuck to my strategy, was very solid. Of course I feel better and better every day here,” said Swiatek, who was a finalist in Dubai 12 months ago.

The Polish top seed will next face Russian world number 40 Anna Kalinskaya, who defeated world number three and reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

An early break of serve was enough for Swiatek to secure the opening set, overcoming Zheng in some key powerful baseline battles to take the lead in 42 minutes.

Swiatek had to save a break point in the fourth game before pouncing on Zheng’s serve and did not lose another game, winning in an hour and 26 minutes.

The four-time Grand Slam champion will face Kalinskaya for the first time on Friday.

Kalinskaya, who reached her first major quarterfinal at the Australian Open last month, recorded the sixth top-10 win of her career with a comeback effort against Gauff.

The 25-year-old player is the fourth qualifier to reach the semi-finals of the WTA tournament in Dubai.

Kalinskaya required medical attention for an upper back problem at the end of the first set, but she managed to recover in the second set and stunned Gauff in two hours and 17 minutes in the third set.

Six match points saved

“I’m extremely happy with my game here,” said Kalinskaya, who will contest her first WTA 1000 semi-final.

“He’s a great player, a great warrior. I could feel the tension until the last point, so it was very important from my side to stay focused and calm and play my best and try to stay aggressive. “

Meanwhile, world number four Elena Rybakina withdrew before her scheduled quarter-finals citing gastrointestinal illness.

After winning the title in Abu Dhabi, making the final in Doha and the last-eight stage in Dubai, Rybakina recorded 10 wins from 11 matches played across three cities over a 14-day period in the Middle East.

The former Wimbledon champion also won the trophy in Brisbane last month and leads the tour in 2024 with 17 wins and just three losses.

Rybakina’s decision to withdraw from the tournament sent Italian Jasmine Paolini into the semi-finals of a WTA 1000 event for the first time in her career.

Paolini will next face Romanian Sorana Cristea, who said she came back from 2-6, 1-5 down and saved six match points to beat reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 2-6, 7 in “the best match of my career.” Made a big comeback. -6 (7/1), 6-2.

Seventh-seeded Vondrousova served for the match on three separate occasions in the second set, but could not hold out, giving Cirstea a chance to fight back and book her place in the third WTA 1000 semifinal of her career.

At 33, the 22nd-ranked Romanian is the oldest semi-finalist in the history of the WTA tournament in Dubai.

“I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect to win it after being down a set and 5-1,” admitted Cirstea, who now has two top-10 wins in 2024.

“I looked at the clock and saw there was only an hour of play. I was getting great support. I said, ‘Okay, let’s try to win another game for the public, make it a little longer.’ ‘ I think that took the pressure off me.”

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