No.7 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland earned a tough three-set win at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open on Tuesday, battling past a spirited Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 to reach the round of 16.
2020 Roland Garros champion Swiatek needed just over two hours to claim the hard-fought victory and claim a spot in the Doha round of 16 for the first time in her career.
By the numbers: With the win, World No.8 Swiatek exacted some revenge on 36th-ranked Golubic. The Swiss player had beaten Swiatek in straight sets in their lone previous meeting, in the first round of 2019 Wimbledon.
But this time around, it was Swiatek who closed out the win, claiming exactly two-thirds of Golubic's second-service points and converting six of her 10 break points.
A little bit of everything 🤪
— wta (@WTA) February 22, 2022
Point of the match for 🇵🇱 @iga_swiatek who takes out Golubic in three sets.#QatarTennis pic.twitter.com/XWLoUzo8LB
Key moments: Swiatek saved a total of five break points in her first two service games before romping through the rest of the opening set. However, Golubic stormed back in the second set, building a commanding double-break lead and breaking Swiatek in the last game to tie the match.
Swiatek, though, regrouped in the third set to take charge, slamming an incredible backhand winner down the line to break for a 3-2 lead. Serving for the match at 5-2, Swiatek swatted away two break points with aggressive play, dictating with her forehand through the rest of the game to seal victory.
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Next up: Swiatek will face Daria Kasatkina in the third round on Wednesday. Swiatek leads the head-to-head with Kasatkina 2-1, turning their rivalry around by winning their two meetings this year. Swiatek beat Kasatkina at the 2022 Australian Open, as well as just last week in Dubai.
Ostapenko extends winning streak to 7 straight
Also on Tuesday, No.15 seed Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia won her seventh straight match by outlasting Amanda Anisimova of the United States 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the second round.
Back in the Top 20 for the first time since October 2018, former Roland Garros champion Ostapenko is now in the Doha round of 16 after her 1-hour and 39-minute victory over Anisimova. Ostapenko continues her sterling run of form which led her to her fifth career WTA singles title last week in Dubai.
Read more: Champions Corner: Resurgent Ostapenko playing pressure-free again
In fact, both combatants have had stellar starts to the season. Ostapenko's 2022 win-loss record of 11-3 coming into the tilt was nearly matched by Anisimova, who was 9-2 this year after winning the Melbourne Summer Set 2 title and reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Jelena Ostapenko extends her win streak to 7 matches after defeating Amanda Anisimova 63 46 64 to advance to #QatarOpen R16.
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) February 22, 2022
Ostapenko now 7-1 in 3-set matches in 2022. Her sole loss came to Barbora Krejcikova at the Australian Open, 26 64 64.
Ostapenko faces Krejcikova next. pic.twitter.com/cWSiu2UK9c
In the first meeting between the pair, Ostapenko collected the first set in half an hour, but Anisimova struck back to take the second set, breaking the Latvian in the last game to level the match after just over an hour of play.
Highlights: Ostapenko def. Anisimova
In the final frame, the Ostapenko power game dominated from the outset, as she won 16 of the first 18 points to lead 4-0. Anisimova clawed one break back, but Ostapenko held firm, converting her third match point after a netted backhand return by Anisimova.
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Ostapenko won two-thirds of her first-service points to eke out the win over Anisimova and line up a fascinating round-of-16 encounter with No.2 seed Barbora Krejcikova. Their head-to-head is deadlocked at 2-2, with Krejcikova winning their most recent meeting at this year's Australian Open.
Americans Gauff, Pegula move into round of 16
A pair of seeded Americans, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, booked round-of-16 spots after straight-sets wins on Tuesday.
No.14 seed Gauff moved past Caroline Garcia of France 6-2, 7-6(3). Gauff needed three sets to triumph in their lone previous meeting at Indian Wells last year, but she held on in the second-set tiebreak to earn a straight-sets win this time in in an hour and 32 minutes.
Coco moves 🔛 in Doha @CocoGauff notches a 6-2, 7-6(3) victory over Garcia. pic.twitter.com/6gMz4H3quB
— wta (@WTA) February 22, 2022
Former Top 5 player Garcia stunned previous Doha champion Simona Halep in the first round, but she was unable to repeat her exploits against 17-year-old Gauff. The American teen won 81 percent of her first-service points to notch the win and set up a meeting with No.3 seed Paula Badosa.
No.9 seed Pegula swept past Slovenian qualifier Kaja Juvan 6-3, 6-3 in an hour and 27 minutes. Pegula, who reached her second consecutive Australian Open quarterfinal last month, broke World No.90 Juvan five times as she eased to her seventh match-win of the season.
Brengle advances after injured Azarenka withdraws
Madison Brengle of the United States moved into the round of 16 after No.12 seed and two-time Doha champion Victoria Azarenka of Belarus withdrew from their scheduled second-round clash.
It would have been the first meeting between the two WTA mainstays, but former World No.1 Azarenka was unable to play due to a left hip injury. World No.60 Brengle will now face last year's finalist Garbiñe Muguruza, the No.5 seed, in the next round.
