It took just 53 minutes for world No. 1 Iga Swiatek to thrash Daniel Collins to reach the Doha Open quarterfinals on Wednesday.
The reigning French and US Open champion, playing her first match since her shock elimination from the round of 16 of the Australian Open, defeated 42nd-placed Collins of the US 6-0, 6-1.
The Polish star will take on last weekend’s Abu Dhabi champion and world No. 9 Belinda Bencic for a spot in the semi-finals.
“I felt pretty confident,” said Swiatek, who started her 37-match winning streak in Doha last season.
“I am happy that I was collected and from start to finish quite focused and disciplined with tactics. I didn’t really let Danielle get into the rhythm. I wanted to be aggressive.”
Bencic rallied to defeat Victoria Azarenka 1-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 after losing 6-1, 4-1 at one stage.
World No. 6 Coco Gauff started her campaign in Doha with a 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) victory over two-time champion Petra Kvitova.
Kvitova, the 2018 and 2021 Doha champion, racked up 21 wins but lost 31 unforced errors to Gauff’s 14.
“I felt like I was watching her for a long time and it was weird to play her in that regard because it’s almost like meeting a celebrity,” Gauff said of two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova.
The 18-year-old Gauff will next face off against Veronika Kudermetova, who reached her fourth 2023 quarter-final after losing to former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 6-2, 7-5.
Second place American Jessica Pegula saved two match points to beat former French Open winner Elena Ostapenko 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.
World No. 4 Pegula lost 5-2 in the third set and faced match points 5-4, but she recovered to take the win eight minutes to two hours.
Pegula will next face Beatriz Haddad Maia after the Brazilian beat sixth-placed Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 7-6 (9/7).
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Source: sports.yahoo.com
