Iga Swiatek storms past Anett Kontaveit to clinch Qatar Open title
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Iga Swiatek with her 2022 Qatar Open trophy
Iga Swiatek finally ended her title drought by lifting the title at the Qatar Open. The Pole breezed past Anett Kontaveit to win her first WTA title since Rome last year.
Swiatek put on a dominant display to prevail over 4th seed Anett Kontaveit 6-2, 6-0 in just over an hour. She had a near-flawless service game as she fired 5 aces past the Estonian and won 74% of her first-serve points. With this win, Swiatek ended Kontaveit’s 9 match winning streak.
Kontaveit came into the match as the slight favorite having won 4 of her last 5 indoor tournaments. She was also on a 19-match winning streak in indoor tournaments. But the 4th seed stood no chance against Swiatek who dropped only two games en route to the win. The match was evenly poised until the 5th game with both the players trading a break of serve each, but after that Swiatek turned the tide around and won 4 games in a row to win the set, and bagelled Kontaveit in the second to clinch the title.
Swiatek continues her dominant display in finals
Since losing her first WTA final in Lugano in 2019, Swiatek has won 4 consecutive finals on the trot and all of them have been in straight sets. The Pole has been one of the most consistent players on the WTA circuit. She was the only player to reach the second week of Grand Slams last year and also was the only player to reach at least the semi-finals of the Australian Open and the Qatar Open this year. But the 20-year-old always faltered just before the finals and had won only 3 WTA titles prior to Doha.
She finally managed to play her top-level in Doha to lift her first title in nearly a year. Her route to the finals wasn’t easy either, she defeated World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals before getting the better of 6th seed Maria Sakkari in the semis. Her victory in the semi-finals was Swiatek’s first win over Sakkari, snapping a 3-match losing streak against the Greek. This was the first time Swiatek defeated 3 top-10 players at a tournament.
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T Rushitha
(360 Articles Published)