Alkass Digital
World No.1 Iga Swiatek faces a possible meeting with American Danielle Collins in the second round as the Polish 21-year-old launches her title-defence at the WTA Qatar TotalEnergies Open, the draw revealed yesterday.
The official draw ceremony which took place at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex yesterday pitted Swiatek and World No.4 Jessica Pegula on opposite ends, as eight of World’s top 10 stars begin their quest for the elusive golden Falcon trophy in Doha from tomorrow.
Yesterday’s draw ceremony was attended by a host of top officials including the Qatar Tennis, Squash and Badminton Federation (QTSBF) Secretary General and the Higher Organising Committee Chairman Tareq Zainal.
Being handed a first-round bye, Swiatek will face Collins or a qualifier, but the Polish star will be looking to avoid a repeat of the 2022 Australian Open semi-finals in which the American knocked out the tournament favourite.
The runner-up position at the Melbourne Park last year was Collins’ best performance in the last 13 months, but the World No. 42 has failed to rack up silverware since then.
Collins, seeded seventh, is determined to make an impact in her maiden visit to Doha, but blocking her way is the best in the world.
“Yeah, I mean, I haven’t had the best luck with the draws recently. But I think starting off the year, facing strong opponents with (Elena) Rybakina and (Jelena) Ostapenko and now potentially Iga (Swiatek) in the second round, I’m being challenged with playing the best players in the world and I think it’s a good challenge,” Collins said after yesterday’s draw.
Collins suffered a first round loss to Ostapenko in a tight three-set battle in Abu Dhabi a week ago, following a third round defeat in the hands of Wimbledon champion Rybakina at the Australian Open in January.“That’s the position you want to be in, right? Playing against the best people in the world. So hopefully I can just try to play my best tennis and I certainly will have to do that, and maybe (hope for) some better draws in the future,” Collins, who is making her Qatar TotalEnergies Open debut, said.
“Yeah, first time here. So this is a part of the world that I haven’t really gotten to travel to before and really looking forward to being able to discover the city and be able to play some good tennis too. So yeah, I’ve always heard great things about the event here and it is one of the most well ran and one of the most hospitable tournaments too. So everyone looks forward to coming here and it’s great to be here for the first time,” Collins added.
Last year, Swiatek’s title win which came after a dominant show against Anett Kontaveit of Estonia in the final in Doha, kicked off an extraordinary series of 37 victories which came to an end at Wimbledon.
If she clears the first hurdle against Collins in the Round of 16, Swiatek will advance to the quarter-finals and could face Swiss World No.9 Belinda Bencic, the reigning Olympic champion, or who is due to play in the Abu Dhabi tournament final today.
In addition to Bencic, a possible rival of the Swiatek in the quarters may be Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, a two-time winner in Doha.
No.4 seed Coco Gauff also received a first-round bye, and will face either Zhang Shuai or two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in her first match.
At the bottom of the top half, No.8 seed Veronika Kudermetova will meet former Roland Garros champion Barbora Krejcikova in the first round before taking on either Liudmila Samsonova or former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin for a place in the quarter-finals.
In the third quarter of the draw, No.3 seed Caroline Garcia has received a first round bye and will wait for the winner of the tie between Karolina Muchova and Martina Trevisan.
No.5 seed Maria Sakkari will take on last season’s WTA Newcomer of the Year Zheng Qinwen in the opening round.
The final quarter sees No.2 seed Jessica Pegula at the very bottom of the draw, with a first-round bye. Pegula will meet either her fellow American Madison Keys or former Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko in her first match.
No.6 seed Daria Kasatkina will play a qualifier in her opening match, with the winner set to face either Paula Badosa or Beatriz Haddad Maia in a tough second-round clash in the WTA 500 event which carries a prize pool of $780,600.