Polish Iga Szwiłtek, ranked second in the world, survived an ambush by Australian Daria Kasatkina (61), defeating her 5-7, 6-1, 6-1, to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Doha tournament, which is considered the first thousand-point tournament in the current tennis season. On the same path, Kazakhstani Elena Rybakina followed, while Russian Mira Andreeva (7) bid farewell to the competition after losing to Canadian Victoria Mpoko with a score of 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7).
Shevuntik, who won the title in the Qatari capital three times in a row between 2022 and 2024, faces great pressure to maintain her position in the world rankings from Rybakina, who may advance if she beats her in these competitions.
In the quarter-finals, she will face Polish-Greek Maria Sakkari, formerly ranked third in the world and currently 52nd.
“It was not an easy match. She took advantage of the slow quality of the pitch here and tried harder compared to our previous matches,” Sheviontek said.
She added: “But you cannot know if this was part of her plan from the beginning, or whether I was the one who gave her more opportunities.”
She continued: “But I definitely felt sometimes that I could have done better in the first set.”
Shevyontek still faces the possibility of a renewed meeting with Rybakina, the Australian Open champion, in the final, after the latter beat her in the quarter-finals of the first Grand Slam last month.
Rybakina offers
Rybakina also had to come from behind against Chinese Qinwen Jing, before beating her 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the round of 16.
Geng, the 2024 Australian Championship runner-up, participated in her second tournament since undergoing elbow surgery last July, and proved her physical recovery by winning after three sets over Americans Sofia Kenin and Alicia Parks in the previous two rounds.
Rybakina, who surprised first-seeded Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka and defeated her in the Melbourne final, aspires to achieve her first title in the 1000 tournaments since the Italian tournament in 2023.
In the next round, the Kazakh will face rising star Mboko, the 19-year-old world number 13, who managed to avenge Andreeva, whom she beat in the final of the Adelaide tournament in Australia in January.
The Russian missed the opportunity to decide the match after leading 5-4 in the final third set, before the Canadian succeeded in turning the result in her favor.
Mpoko reached the quarter-finals of one of the Alef Tours for the first time since her remarkable victory in the Montreal tournament, which put her in the spotlight in the world of professional women.
“I feel like I made some decisive shots in the end,” Mboko said.
She added: “I think we were both tired when we got to the tiebreaker. I felt like I was lucky enough to hit some good shots in important moments.”
Latvian Jelena Ostapenko (24), the former runner-up in the Qatari tournament, advanced to the quarter-finals by defeating Ecuadorian Camila Osorio 6-3, 6-1, setting up a match with Italian Elisabetta Cocciarito (57).
Czech Karolina Muchova (14) also qualified for the same round after her compatriot Karolina Pličkova withdrew due to injury, after the former had led 5-2 in the first group.
