Svitolina puts the lid on her first match defeating Doi

Embed from Getty Images 

Elina Svitolina had a comfortable victory in her return to Doha at the Qatar Total Open Wednesday night. Misaki Doi was held back long enough for the top seed to win 6-1, 6-2 on centre court at the Khalifa International Tennis Centre. 

This marked a third time in action between the two and the first to come on hard courts. Six years ago, the Ukrainian bested Doi in a tough three-setter at Wimbledon. Since that time, the world number five honed her skills in her best aspect to prepare for her opening round. Doi’s warm-up round with Saisai Zheng proved favorable in a straight-set result. With some experience with Svitolina, the 29-year-old needed her best to pull off an early upset at the tournament. 

The number one seed opened up the match with a full speed of momentum, taking the first two games swiftly. With a break in hand, Svitolina committed a pair of errors in the third but contained the service with an ace on the final point. The 26-year-old got a jump on Doi’s service game, but let her in on an error and some good forehands from the Japanese star. She overcame the deficit to force deuce, waiting patiently before Svitolina erred to secure the hold. She had one good point against the Ukrainian, answering with a lob that the top seed couldn’t get to. In the end, the fifth game remained in the grip of Svitolina taking a 4-1 lead. 

She consolidated with a break as Doi suffered a double fault in the sixth allowing the number one seed to serve out the set, though she gave up two points, Svitolina quickly put an end to the first in 25 minutes. The second serve was the big upset for Doi, who won just one of eight points played from it. While Svitolina didn’t have many winners, it was her overall play that kept her in control. 

A fourth double fault got Doi into trouble as she opened the second set, but turned things around to save breakpoints and force deuce. Despite her fight, Svitolina forced Doi to run for the ball, taking her out of contention to hold, giving the Ukrainian the break. The 29-year-old struck back with good movement, producing breakpoints on Svitolina. Playing every ball helped her break back in the second, looking to consolidate on serve. 

Doi trailed once again on serve but fought off the breakpoints to force deuce. Her efforts were stopped by the Ukrainian, who waited for her moment to strike out the break and move ahead. Good court placement allowed Svitolina to comfortably hold in the fourth over Doi, who struggled to keep up. A rally on the first point of the sixth game went more than 20 shots, with the Ukrainian placing the winner down the line. Svitolina went on to score the double break with just two games standing between her and a quarterfinal spot. 

The groundstrokes pummeled Doi to another shutout for Svitolina, who played for it with the Japanese serving to stay alive. The 29-year-old used her left forehand to force errors on Svitolina that earned her the service hold. While it stood out as her best game of the match, the inevitable was with Svitolina, who served in the eight for the match. She forced an error on Doi before getting to the ball, launching a winner back. A crosscourt brought up match point, but Doi saved it with an easy return. 

The top seed’s second attempt brought it to an end winning it in one hour. She had 26 winners and only ten unforced errors, showing that her game was in tip-top shape. “I’m really happy with my performance today,” Svitolina said during her on-court interview. “and I’m happy to be back here.” 

She’ll go into the quarterfinal facing Victoria Azarenka who she played doubles with this week and will try to etch out her first win against her after three meetings. “It’s gonna be an exciting match,” said the top seed. “We enjoy sharing a court together so tomorrow we won’t be on the same side so it’s gonna be an exciting match and I’m looking forward to that.”

Pegula holds off Ostapenko in straight sets

Jessica Pegula keeps her game under control during her second-round match with Jelena Ostapenko at the Qatar Total Open

Jessica Pegula held firm from her end to advance to the last eight at the Qatar Total Open Wednesday. Dealing with a late surge from Jelena Ostapenko, whose second serve took a beating, gave the American just enough room to win 6-2, 7-5 on Court A at the Khalifa International Tennis Centre. 

The Latvian had a fortunate outcome against Kiki Bertens, who attempted the test the waters after an Achilles injury but was trounced in her return back. The challenge in her second round increased meeting Pegula for the third time and first in six years. The American gained steam at the Australian Open, making it to her first major quarterfinal in Melbourne. With a four-match winning streak in Doha, the Buffalo native had the tenacity to level up on Ostapenko and show her progress in skills. 

She showed Ostapenko how was she was on the return side, making it a difficult service game that she managed to get out of. When it was her turn to serve, Pegula delivered a serve to love in response. The Latvian was once again under fire on serve leading to a mistake that allowed Pegula to take the break. The American once again delivered a serve to love in the fourth, but it woke up new energy in Ostapenko. 

She came out in the fifth, putting her offense into a new gear that held Pegula back and cheers from her camp to feed off of. Pegula didn’t get a third clean start on serve as the Latvian fired in a winning return. The 27-year-old had to play defense that led her and Ostapenko to deuce before holding on the second break. Just when it looked as if the 23-year-old had an answer for Pegula on the serve, she racked up too many errors on serve that cost her big. Pegula jumped at the opportunity and clinched another break to lead 5-2. 

The American served with new balls in the eighth battling Ostapenko, who was not giving up and proved her worth with a push to deuce. Despite her fight, it was a return landing wide into the tramlines that ended her quest for a comeback in 31 minutes. The second serve was Ostapenko’s weak spot, serving up less than 30 percent of points from it, making it easy to joggle during her service games. 

As the second got underway, the American focused on that point, taking another break under her belt. Ostapenko answered with a break back, trying to pull together some momentum. She couldn’t as Pegula went on a rush in the third, scoring the double break with a shutout. She backed it up with a hold of serve, increasing the frustrations of her opponent. The Latvian fought back well in the fifth holding her end to perhaps build upon it. 

Pegula answered with another service hold that doubled her lead on Ostapenko, but a service to love from the 23-year-old cut that back in half. Ostapenko added some difficulty for Pegula on serve in the eighth, scoring a serve to love while winning the last eight points played. With the momentum of the points paying off, the Latvian watched the next three points go long for Pegula giving her a 5-4 lead. 

 Having lost the last 12 points played, the 27-year-old turned things around on serve, denying Ostapenko anything to serve her to love. With things tied at five-all, and the last four games played to love, the fight was on to take control of the set. Ostapenko looked good during the first two points, but her second serve came back to haunt, giving the key break to Pegula. With the door opened to serve for the match, the Buffalo native watched Ostapenko err once wide and twice into the net bringing up match point. An ace down the T was too close to call, forcing the Latvian to get another look. The video showed that the ball caught the line, giving Pegula the victory in 1 hour and 13 minutes.

Aliaksandra Sasnovich foils Eugenie Bouchard in straight sets at Lyon Open

Eugenie Bouchard gave it her best once more but lost out at the Lyon Open Tuesday night. The Canadian gave Aliaksandra Sasnovich a scare in straight sets but couldn’t overcome the 7-6(7), 6-2 on centre court at the Lyon Tennis Club. 

The two met for the first time in their careers and at a point where both needed a starting point to make a push for success. Bouchard gave it her best shot during qualifications at the Australian Open but was cut midway from making the main draw. Since then, the Canadian has put in a lot of practice to prepare for Lyon as a wild card. After a short Australian Open, Sasnovich stuck around for the Phillip Island tournament but didn’t get further than the second round. With another shot back in Europe, the Belorussian looked to best Bouchard while she could and move forward. 

 

She earned an easy break to open the set as Bouchard couldn’t control the errors committed. Sasnovich went into her stride, holding the 27-year-old back to consolidate. She then pushed into the third, fighting back the Canadian to gain a breakpoint and a 3-0 lead. With the double break in hand, the Belorussian took a 4-0 lead, keeping back Bouchard, who was trying to get any win under her belt. 

Despite the large deficit, the 27-year-old almost had a serve to love going but was forced to reach for a low lob and lost out with Sasnovich saving breakpoint. She saved another but an error gave Bouchard a break, taking the fifth on serve. Sasnovich rushed through another service game to be in reach of taking the set, but Bouchard was still alive in it. She limited the errors on the court, getting through her service game to extend the match against the Belorussian. 

A big break for Bouchard came in the eighth when Sasnovich erred on serve opening the door for the Canadian to take control. Sasnovich tried to save points but it was too late as Bouchard took a third game. The 27-year-old absorbed the pace of the rallies in the ninth, hitting big in return. She finished it with an ace, sitting a game down of pushing the set deep. She had another break to love chance in the tenth with Sasnovich erring at the wrong time. With no sign of recovering, the 26-year-old had blown the gap and was fighting to stop Bouchard’s momentum. 

She jumped to a break to love opportunity in the 11th, but erred at the wrong time, letting Bouchard back into her service game. Despite lost chances, she gained the AD point and broke back. When it came time for her to put it away, Sasnovich instead committed two double faults that put her in real trouble. Bouchard fed off her opponent’s mistakes and let one point go before she committed herself and the Belorussian to a tiebreak. 

It was a tug of war with minibreaks coming through the opening nine points. Sasnovich gained set point but failed to put it to rest. Bouchard then had one for herself but made a mistake that made it seven-all. It was then that the 26-year-old had the moment to strike it done on a second set point, breaking Bouchard to complete a long drawn-out set that took 57 minutes. Sasnovich made a total of six double faults with a dwindling second serve winning less than a third of shots from it. 

Knowing that she got herself out of trouble after a huge slip-up, it meant that every game with Bouchard was a battle. The Canadian made that clear in the first, breaking Sasnovich after a break on deuce. She Belorussian broke back, scoring in the second on a sliced winner. The struggles continued with her first serve, handing Bouchard free points in the third. Sasnovich fought back to force deuce, ending the game with a hold of serve. 

The players continued to play every point with Bouchard trying to hold off the Belorussian in the fourth. They were once again at deuce with Sasnovich getting the last laugh on a break back. The 26-year-old was not done fighting off Bouchard, who pressured in the fifth to force deuce. Sasnovich handled the situation to hold serve and was intent on putting the brakes on her opponent. 

Bouchard trailed on serve in the sixth but well-placed winners got her to deuce. A mistake from Sasnovich on the second break opened the door for the Canadian to contain service. For the first time in the set, Sasnovich managed to hold off Bouchard, allowing her a single point before she herself lost on a crosscourt that landed long and into the tramlines. 

Bouchard served, hoping to extend the second set, but on game point double-faulted to bring the Belorussian to deuce. It was that key point that soon had Sasnovich with match point on a long return. A short rally saw the Canadian hit it into the net ending a 1 hour and 40 minute fight.

Madison Keys records first win of season at Qatar Total Open

Belinda Bencic struggled with the first service that caused the door to shut her out of the Qatar Total Open Tuesday night. The Swiss star faced a hungry Madison Keys who fired terrific winners from both sides of her swing to win 6-4, 6-1 on centre court at the Khalifa International Tennis Centre. It marked the American’s first win this season in a solid performance in Doha. 

The two met six years ago in Eastbourne where Bencic while at the top of her game etched out a win for herself to even up the series with Keys. Fast forward to this season, the American missed a lot of time after contracting the Coronavirus, missing out on the Australian Open. With time off the court, she faced the Swiss star who came up short against Iga Swiatek at the last tournament held in Australia. Her loss came with eight double faults which was a sign of weakness that Keys would pounce upon. With her hungry for any sort of victory, the 26-year-old hoped to have her skills in check through the first set. 

She did indeed as the first serve found well-placed points across the net to Bencic for the hold of serve. She answered back in the second with great returns, earning the break to consolidate. Keys backed up the two with a third game win, showing comfort on her service with eight of ten successful so far. Bencic got on the board with a hold in the fourth, laying down a place to build upon. 

Keys answered back while under pressure from the sixth seed, forcing deuce on serve before getting out of trouble holding the first AD point chance. Bencic added another hold that upped her offense which soon challenged the American. Keys faced further adversity from Bencic who dialed in the forehand but battled errors along the way. It gave Keys a chance on deuce where she denied the Swiss star breakpoint and took the seventh with the AD point captured. Despite missed opportunities for the sixth seed, the 23-year-old powered through to continue holding service games. 

With her game well in place, Bencic went on the attack of Keys, jumping ahead on the score and went on to take the break. She was back in reach of a tie in the tenth game working hard on serve. Errors helped Keys get to deuce where after two breaks, the American got it done in 41 minutes scoring a winner to the left of Bencic. Wins from the first serve were key for the American who won 61 percent from her end, while the sixth seed managed 49 and struggled to win from the second serve. 

Keys opened the second with a hold to love and hunted through every point for the break of Bencic. Once she had a second service hold under her belt, the American went on the prowl taking the fourth away from the Swiss. The fifth was a tough one to hold for the American as Bencic found ways of digging into the game, forcing deuce and making it a difficult journey. While it only took two breaks for Keys to win, the game, she knew that upping the ante was needed to get out of trouble. 

Keys answered Bencic with two big forehand returns, watched an error bring up triple set point and laid out a backhand winner for the 5-1 lead. Serving for the match, Keys comfortably reached match point, scoring an ace down the T to take out Bencic in one hour and four minutes.

Victoria Azarenka opens her journey in Qatar with win over Kuznetsova

Victoria Azarenka had another tricky battle to start her run at the Qatar Total Open Monday night. In her battle with Svetlana Kuznetsova, she had to fight off the Russian veteran to come through in a 6-2, 6-3 score on centre court at the Khalifa International Tennis Centre. 

The new WTA season hasn’t been kind to the former world number one, who lost early at the Gippsland Trophy and the opening round of the Australian Open. The 31 year old mother of one and two time winning in Qatar was back in her fifth appearance facing the Russian for the tenth time. While they haven’t met since 2016, the veterans of the sport would no doubt challenge each other. 

Azarenka battled through the six points with Kuznetsova on serve, gaining an edge to earn the break. She was attacked on serve in the second, with the Russian forcing deuce, producing her first break point chance. Azarenka tried to close it on the second break but Kuznetsova turned the tables earning another attempt. The 31 year old denied her once more, before putting the longest game of the set to rest.

Making her pay for the energy invested in the previous game, Azarenka rallied for the double break, allowing the Russian just one point in the third. Kuznetsova got on the board in the third, breaking Azarenka back. The eighth seed denied Kuznetsova to consolidate in the fifth, regaining her three game margin in the process. With another break in hand, Azarenka jumped out to a comfortable lead on serve and won the sixth on a forehand error landing wide for Kuznetsova. 

For the first time in the set, Kuznetsova managed to hold off Azarenka, but it was an effort that came too late. Even with some resistance in the eighth, the Belorussian held from her end, forcing an error from Kuznetsova to put an end the first in 44 minutes. 

Kuznetsova opened the second set with a change of tactics, managing a hold of serve before changing her racket. Azarenka responded with a quick service game, denying a point to her Russian counterpart. Kuznetsova served to stay in front of the Belorussian but as soon as it was her turn to serve, the eighth seed had a plan to turn the tide. Azarenka backed up the win on serve with a hard fight to break the Russian in the fifth. Though it took three breaks for Azarenka, she had the lead back on an error from Kuznetsova. 

The challenge was on for the Russian to get back to level pegging and fight for control. The fight was on between the two when Kuznetsova forced deuce and then produced a breakpoint chance. Azarenka shut it down but it was just the start of a long tug of war. Through 11 breaks Azarenka saved four more from Kuznetsova struggling to put it away herself. It wasn’t until the last one she saved that victory would be hers, gaining a 4-2 hold. 

A key break for the eighth seed came when she opened the gap but watched every breakpoint disappear. Despite Kuznetsova’s efforts, she couldn’t stop the inevitable as Azarenka made it 5-2. Serving for a spot in round two, the 31 year old opened out to a comfortable lead for two match points. Kuznetsova got the last laugh on a short rally, saving one of them and a second to force deuce. Kuznetsova was on a mission to take this from Kuznetsova and with a third match point saved, she took the break to close within two games of the Belorussian. 

Hoping to add another and make the set worthwhile, Kuznetsova unfortunately found herself trailing Azarenka. A fourth match point came up for the former world number one but the Russian was again relentless. She forced deuce, but that was all she could put together as the 31 year old went on to set up a fifth match point and won it on a line drive that Kuznetsova was short to return on ending the match in 1 hour and 51 minutes.

Jelena Ostapenko welcomes Kiki Bertens back to tennis with a stunning defeat in straight sets

Jelena Ostapenko gained a lot of energy and confidence during her straight sets win over Kiki Bertens at the Qatar Total Open

Kiki Bertens had a rough welcome back at the Qatar Total Open Monday night. Jelena Ostapenko kicked in to run through the fifth seed on centre court 6-0, 6-2 at the Khalifa International Tennis Centre. The 2016 finalist record 26 winners to Bertens six, making a big statement in the opening round. 

The two met at Strasbourg last year and went to three sets before the Latvian bowed out due to injury in the deciding set. She put together short winning streaks since that day, but didn’t get past the opening round of the Australian Open. With time to prepare for the WTA 500 tournament, Ostapenko had a chance to test the skills of her opponent, who took a break to get married. Kiki Bertens spent the last part of the 2020 season, getting hitched a month after her fourth round loss at the French Open. With a well-deserved break, the Dutch star looked to get back to business and sharpen her game once more. 

In a sign of welcoming back the Dutch star, Ostapenko allowed her one point on serve before earning the break on free points in the second for the break. Bertens had some trouble getting deep into rallies that led the Latvian to backing up her two wins with another. Sitting way off the pace, the fifth seed tried to pull it together on serve in the fourth, but came up short when going for the game point. Ostapenko forced deuce and denied Bertens another chance, scoring the double break. 

The 23 year old widened the gap on Bertens, consolidating her good with for a 5-0 lead, eyeing an easy chance at bageling. She earned it with the help of Bertens and her errors on serve that put the first set to rest in just 20 minutes. Drop shots were a big support for the Latvian, who succeeded with the tactic while nailing ten winners across the net. 

The Latvian picked up right where she left off, holding Bertens from getting on the scoreboard. One came to the Dutch star in the second, holding Ostapenko late to avoid the dreaded double bagel. Despite the loss of a shutout, the 23 year old marched on, holding serve in the third and served up a break to love on Bertens. Ostapenko’s service game battled the Dutch star in the fifth, before finishing her service game with a big statement to lead 4-1. 

Bertens had a shot at holding for another win but an error on deuce opened the door for her opponent. The Latvian’s return game got aggressive in the rally that produced a breakpoint and soon the game. She served for the match in the seventh, but Bertens responded well on the returns, scoring points on errors. With the service game lost, Ostapenko hunted down the victory in the eighth forcing deuce in the late stages before earning her first match point. 

The 23 year old put an end to the fifth seed scoring on a cross court winner that ended the night in 55 minutes.

Garbine Muguruza avoids long day on court holding Kudermetova in straight sets

Garbine Muguruza swings big to come through the opening round of the Qatar Total Open Monday. 

Garbine Muguruza had a comfortable start to the Qatar Total Open but had to fight hard for it Monday. Veronika Kudermetova stayed with the Spaniard in the second set, forcing a tiebreak but fell short in a 6-2, 7-6(4) score on center court at the Khalifa International Tennis Centre. 

The two met in Dubai last year where Muguruza edged the Russian in three sets. Kudermetova showed her opponent that her attacks took effect and would stay with the Spaniard for their next meeting. Both had similar outcomes at the Australian Open losing in three sets prior to the second week. The former world number one chose to take a break to regroup her game for her sixth appearance in Qatar. Kudermetova hoped that her early exit from Adelaide last week would not repeat and give Muguruza a run for her money. 

The first game was a challenge for Kudermetova, who gave Muguruza an edge while serving. She recovered to earn a game point, but the Spaniard refused to let her get away easy. Muguruza forced deuce and held the first AD point, earning the break. She consolidated it in the second to take the lead. The Russian pulled off a successful service to love and soon forced the Spaniard into a corner on serve in the fourth. Kudermetova brought up a breakpoint chance but watched Muguruza force deuce. She gave herself one more opportunity, yet as soon as that was gone, the 27-year-old held. 

The two remained on serve through the next pair of games until a break for the former world number one put her in place to go for the set. She built together with a 0-40 lead in the seventh but had trouble closing it out. Kudermetova forced deuce but couldn’t gain the AD point on serve. Knowing that she let the Russian back into games twice, Muguruza wasted no time in the eighth, scoring a serve to love that closed the first in 38 minutes. There were more unforced errors than winners from Muguruza but her 72 percent first serve did the job to stand ahead. 

Kudermetova took the honor once again to serve open the second set, scoring her second shutout of the Spaniard. Muguruza followed suit with a hold in the second but trailed when Kudermetova increased the success from both sides of her game. In the fourth, the 23-year-old wanted to make that clear to Muguruza in the shape of a break, but errors began creeping into her game. Muguruza got out of a jam on deuce that leveled the score, and soon took the lead with a break of Kudermetova in the fifth. 

Muguruza backed up the break with a hold to love in the following game, striding closer to the result of a straight-set. The Spaniard responded on every point but made too many errors that put the Russian back within reach after seven games. Muguruza pressed Kudermetova to make the decision on her returns that brought up a window to get through her service but instead took them to deuce. 

Kudermetova showed perseverance with good court placement and response to her opponent, but one bad error took the air out of her break chance, handing Muguruza the 5-3 lead. The Russian didn’t want to let the 27-year-old anywhere in her service game earning a third serve to love. Muguruza earned the chance to serve for the match but fell behind in the ninth. Errors into the net and low ball lobs from Kudermetova brought up a five-all situation. 

Kudermetova committed to a second double fault on serve in the 11th that gave Muguruza leverage and depth on the ball. She almost saw the Russian force deuce, but a slicer landed into the tramlines, giving the Spaniard another opportunity to close it out on serve. Muguruza trailed Kudermetova in the 12th but slowly made her way back with good court placement. In a fight to force deuce, the Spaniard played every point but came up short when the Russian got crosscourt inside the line, forcing the players to a tiebreak. 

Kudermetova took a huge 3-0 lead, with Muguruza struggling to get one to nail down. She then took the next three points fighting to gain some momentum in the late stages of the set. A well-placed lob gave the Russian the lead back, but the 27-year-old answered with a drive that painted the line. She moved Kudermetova around during the ninth point, setting up the smash for the edge. Matchpoint was achieved on an error into the net from Kudermetova who saw her tournament end on one last error to complete 1 hour and 48 minutes on court. 

“I was expecting a very tough match,” Muguruza said after her match on court. “We played exactly one year ago and I remember that it was a great battle.” While she managed to avoid playing another three-setter, she’ll need a lot more when she faces 2020 champion Aryna Sabalenka on Wednesday.