Swiatek dominates Sakkari to advance in Qatar

Iga Swiatek, advanced to the third round of the Qatar Open on Monday, decisively defeating Maria Sakkari, 29, in straight sets as she commenced her pursuit of a fourth consecutive title in Doha.

The five-time Grand Slam champion initially faced challenges but ultimately triumphed with a score of 6-3, 6-2.

This marks the Polish athlete's return to competition following a one-month doping suspension imposed late last year, and it is her first match since her semi-final exit in Melbourne against the eventual champion, Madison Keys. Swiatek's next opponent will be Kazakh player Yulia Putintseva in the round of 16.

Since her second-round victory over Viktorija Golubic in 2022, the 23-year-old has not lost a set at the Qatar Open.

Swiatek's triumph in the previous year's tournament was her first of four WTA 1000 titles in 2024, bringing her total to ten, which ties her with Victoria Azarenka for the most titles among current players.

Former world number three Sakkari initially took a break lead by winning three consecutive games in the first set but struggled to score again until the fifth game of the second set.

The Greek player managed to save a match point while holding serve to bring the score to 5-2, but Swiatek clinched the match on her serve as Sakkari sent a return wide.

In earlier matches, 20-year-old Linda Noskova achieved a notable 6-2, 6-4 victory over 15th seed Donna Vekic in the first round, while Putintseva narrowly defeated Moyuka Uchijima in three sets.

Russian 10th seed Daria Kasatkina delivered a commanding performance, defeating Polina Kudermetova 6-0, 6-0 in just 42 minutes, setting up a last-32 match against Armenia's Elina Avanesyan.

Jelena Ostapenko also advanced to the second round, winning against Japanese qualifier Aoi Ito with a score of 6-2, 6-1.