Categories: DohaTop StoryWTA

Swiatek stops Stephens to begin Dubai with a win

Iga Swiatek followed up on her weekend Doha WTA title by kicking off this week in Dubai with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat of American Sloane Stephens.to book into the third round of the 1000 event on Tuesday.

The world No. 1 is riding the wave after collecting a third trophy in as many editions in Doha; she has a mission here after losing the final a year ago to Barbora Krejcikova.

Swiatek took two hours to keep a clean sheet at the Gulf tournaments this season.

She has now defeated 2018 US Open champion Stephens in all three of their meetings without the loss of a set.

The Pole twice rallied from a break down in the opening set and concluded the match with a fifth break of the American in the concluding game of the second set.

Swiatek admitted she was put off her stride on occasion by a small, but sometimes noisy crowd.

 “There were a lot of people shouting in Polish. I appreciate the support, but sometimes they were doing that when Sloane was walking to serve, a few seconds before the point. 

“I knew we should be used to that, but today was a little bit harder for me to focus.” 

Swiatek said that after squeezing through the first set, she had to lift in the second.

“There were many important changes I could do to make my game better; I knew if I played just a bit better it would be fine.”

Swiatek will next face Elina Svitolina after the Ukrainian defeated Tatiana Maris 6-3, 6-3.

“I don’t feel like I’m really tired (from her Doha title). I feel I can go with the flow in terms of the confidence that I felt after last week’s matches.

“It feels like we don’t have that much break between the (two) tournaments, so I treat it like one,”

Bill Scott

Recent Posts

Davis Cup Final to mark Nadal goodbye to tennis

Rafael Nadal will bring down the curtain on his career next month as he plays his…

3 weeks ago

Wimbledon lowers the boom on human linecalling

Wimbledon on Wednesday brought an end to human linecalling at the most traditional of the…

3 weeks ago

Djokovic rolls Cobolli as Shanghai fights to restore order

Novak Djokovic returned to action after waiting tow days to play as the rain-hit Shanghai…

4 weeks ago

Innocent umpiring error screws Stan in Shanghai

Stan Wawrinka may have been inadvertently short-changed during Monday's third-round loss at the Shanghai Masters…

4 weeks ago

Sinner sweeps Fritz to win US Open

Jannik Sinner schooled Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 to win his second Grand Slam title…

2 months ago

Sabalenka wins Open title for Grand Slam hat-trick

Aryana Sabalenka completed a Grand Slam title hat-trick on Saturday as she fought from 5-3…

2 months ago