Poland's Iga Swiatek hits a return against Indonesia's Janice Tjen.
Doha, Qatar: Top seeds Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina delivered commanding wins, while world No. 5 Coco Gauff suffered a shock exit at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open in Doha yesterday.
World No. 1 Swiatek opened her campaign in dominant fashion, brushing aside American teenager Janice Tjen 6-0, 6-3 in the first round.
Poland’s Swiatek, who is chasing an unprecedented fourth title in Doha, needed just 25 minutes to claim the opening set, dropping no games. Tjen made a brief fightback in the second set, but Swiatek regained control to seal a comfortable win.
Speaking during the courtside interview, Swiatek expressed her delight at being back in Doha and thanked the spectators for their support.
“Thank you for coming to cheer us on from our first matches,”Swiatek said, adding she had to adopt a different type of rhythm in the 69-minute match.
“Today, I needed to adapt to a different rhythm. I felt like her choices (Tjen’s) resembled those of Ash Barty. It was a nice throwback.”
Swiatek will face Daria Kasatkina in the round of 16.
Second seed Elena Rybakina also advanced in style, marking the 400th win of her WTA Tour career.
The recently crowned Australian Open champion defeated China’s Wang Xinyu 6-2, 6-4 in one hour and 20 minutes to reach the third round in Doha for a third consecutive year.
The day’s biggest shock came with the elimination of Gauff, who was knocked out in the second round by Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
Cocciaretto produced a composed and aggressive display to claim a 6-4, 6-2 victory, ending the American’s run and opening up the draw as the tournament heads into the latter stages in Doha.
“She was just taking the ball early and crushing the ball,” Gauff said after the loss.
“I think I need to figure out how to play against players like her who hit super flat and take everything pretty much early. I think the last two matches have shown that I’ve been struggling with that.”
Gauff was not the only seeded player to fall on the eventful day.
World No. 8 Jasmine Paolini lost 4-6, 2-6 to Maria Sakkari in one hour and 23 minutes, while qualifier Varvara Gracheva came from 3-1 down in the third set to upset No. 9 seed Linda Noskova 6-2, 2-6, 7-5, securing her sixth career Top 20 win.
Meanwhile, Belgian world No. 22 Elise Mertens struggled with an injury but kept on playing before losing to Daria Kasatkina 6-4, 6-0.
“I suffered an injury during my singles match today, and I couldn’t defend my chances at 100%. Unfortunately, I must withdraw from the doubles event for this reason. Time for rest and recovery,” the 2019 Doha champion said on an Instagram post after the match.
Paired with Chinese player Shuai Zhang, the doubles world No. 1 was set to face Diana Shnaider/Alexandra Panova in the first round later yesterday.
