Alkass Digital
Unseeded Danielle Collins of the United States yesterday stunned World No. 13 Veronika Kudermetova of Russia 7-5, 6-3 to enter the second round of the Qatar TotalEnergies Open.
Collins, who is ranked 71st in the world in contrast to Kudermetova’s position of 16, will now meet Czech Marie Bouzkova or Sofia Kenin of the United States, in her next match at the WTA 1000 event at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.
Romania’s Sorana Cirstea also stood out with a convincing win over former Grand Slam champion Sloane Stephens to book a high-profile clash against top ranked Iga Swiatek.
The Romanian fired four aces against the 2017 US Open champion before defeating the latter 6-3, 6-2 in their Round of 64 match.
Poland's Iga Swiatek speaks during a press conference.
Cirstea, returning to Qatar after her quarter-final finish at the Abu Dhabi Open, where she outclassed some of the top stars including French opponent Caroline Garcia and Greek Maria Sakkari, will take on the Polish top seed Swiatek at the Centre Court of the state-of-the-art venue, today.
At the WTA 1000 in Doha this time, Sakkari will join the contest from Round 2, while Garcia will take four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka in the opening round today.
Also yesterday, a notable victory was achieved by World No. 19 Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia who secured a hard-fought 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory against Viktoriya Tomova of Bulgaria. Belgium’s Greet Minnen also made it to the next round with a dominant performance against Germany’s Tatjana Maria, cruising to a 6-1, 6-1 victory.
Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk overcame Caroline Dolehide from the United States, with scores of 6-3, 7-5, while Lesia Tsurenko, also from Ukraine, dispatched Zeynep Sonmez of Turkiye in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3.
Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic triumphed over Donna Vekic of Croatia with scores of 7-5, 6-1.
Jabeur looks to bounce back in Doha
Meanwhile, Arab sensation Ons Jabeur, will be looking to make a comeback following a stunner at the Abu Dhabi Open few days ago.
The World No.6 defeated Emma Radacanu in straight sets but fell to Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3, 6-4. Earlier, at the Australian Open, the Tunis star was eliminated in the second round by 16-year-old Mira Andreeva.
“I have been struggling with the knee for a long time, and last week was very, very tough,” Jabeur said yesterday.
“Hopefully I can recover in time and then play better here in Doha,” Jabeur, who missed the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last year, said.
“For me personally, it is very important to be here to connect with Arabic crowds. I feel so much love here in the region, and obviously that’s one of the reasons I chose to play Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Dubai, because I feel so good here.”
Jabeur, who has reached the quarter-finals in Doha twice, will take on Tsurenko, in the second round.
Results
(seedings in parentheses):
Women's Singles Round of 64
Marta Kostyuk, Ukraine, def. Caroline Dolehide, United States, 6-3, 7-5.
Lesia Tsurenko, Ukraine, def. Zeynep Sonmez, Turkiye, 7-5, 6-3.
Ekaterina Alexandrova (14), Russia, def. Viktoriya Tomova, Bulgaria, 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Greet Minnen, Belgium, def. Tatjana Maria, Germany, 6-1, 6-1.
Katerina Siniakova, Czech Republic, def. Donna Vekic, Croatia, 7-5, 6-1.
Danielle Collins, United States, def. Veronika Kudermetova (13), Russia, 7-5, 6-3.
Sorana Cirstea, Romania, def. Sloane Stephens, United States, 6-3, 6-2.
Erika Andreeva, Russia, def. Diana Shnaider, Russia, 7-6 (2), 6-4.
Zhu Lin, China, def. Varvara Gracheva, Russia, 6-1, 6-1.