“Always takes a lot,” Iga Swiatek aware of the challenge against Jessica Pegula despite being the favorite in the Qatar Open final 

Iga Świątek acknowledges Jessica Pegula as a tough competitor before their final match in Doha.

“Always takes a lot,” Iga Swiatek aware of the challenge against Jessica Pegula despite being the favorite in the Qatar Open final 

Iga Świątek, Jessica Pegula

Top-seed Polish player Iga Swiatek will lock horns with Jessica Pegula in the summit clash in Doha on Saturday. The 21-year-old defending champion is pipped to overpower the American. But the World No. 1 is not taking her opponent for granted. 

In the head-to-head chart, Swiatek clearly leads Pegula by 4-2. She also has the greater experience to handle the big matches given her three Grand Slam titles in the bag. Still, Swaitek has to be at her best to defeat Pegula, she acknowledges. 

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Swiatek’s path to the final was an easy ride where she lost only two games during the week. In the semifinals, she defeated No.8 seed Veronika Kudermetova which further boosted her confidence. But Swiatek is not in the mood to lower her guard on Saturday evening. 

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“It always takes a lot to win against Jessie,” Swiatek said about Pegula after her victory over Kudermetova. “She’s a great player, a really solid one. We’ll see, honestly. I’m not going to predict anything or over-analyze. I’m just going to go out and play my best tennis, and we’ll see.”

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Swiatek content with her Qatar show after a disappointing start to the season 

Iga Swiatek

At the beginning of the year, Swiatek could not continue her dominating run of last year. In 2022, she won two Major singles titles and led the rankings by a huge margin. Come 2023, she experienced some drop in form. 

In the United Cup, she was in tears after her unexpected loss to Pegula, the same opponent she is up against in Doha. Australian Open too proved to be a failure when compared to her standards. She crashed out of the tournament after losing to Elena Rybakina in the fourth round. 

Now, her Qatar Open run has given her much-needed confidence. It was visible in her post-match comments. “I was pretty worried about how I was going to compete with the conditions today, so I’m glad that I could play the smart way,” Swiatek said in victory. “I’m pretty happy that I was so solid,” she further expressed. 

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