In a thrilling development, Elena Rybakina is set to face Iga Swiatek in the final of the Qatar Open. This match-up promises to be a captivating encounter between two of the sport’s most promising talents.
Elena Rybakina, the third seed, has had an impressive run in the tournament. She secured her spot in the final with a solid 6-2, 6-4 victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. This win marks Rybakina’s near-perfect start to 2024, winning her 15th match to reach her third final of the season at the Qatar Open.
On the other side of the net, world number one Iga Swiatek advanced to the final after Karolina Pliskova withdrew from their semifinal due to a lower back injury. Swiatek, the two-time defending champion, is seeking her third consecutive title in the Qatar Open.
This final is not just a clash of two top players, but also a clash of styles. Rybakina’s relentless hitting and high-octane serve will be up against Swiatek’s skill set, which has seen her win 11 consecutive matches in Doha.
Interestingly, Rybakina has won their last three matches, including all three in 2023. Their two hard-court matches both went Rybakina’s way in straight sets: one at the Australian Open and the other at the BNP Paribas Open, where Rybakina went on to win the title.
Rybakina commented:
“I think we both know each other pretty well, and of course we trying to study and analyze. For now it was going my way, but as I said, she’s playing really good. I think she’s a little bit fresher than me, that’s for sure, but for me it was already a very positive two weeks, so I try to push myself tomorrow and see how it’s gonna go.
“For me the most important is try to recover physically, because with Iga, it’s a lot about the physics, of course. She’s making you work for every point, and of course I need to stay aggressive and play my game, but we see what can I do tomorrow.”
Rybakina in Doha, ranking, and results in 2024
Currently ranked no.4, the Kazakhstani has achieved a compiled 15-2 match record in 2024. Elena is participating in Doha where she defeated the world no.57 Lin Zhu 6-2 6-1, the world no.23 Emma Navarro 6-1 6-76 6-4, the world no.38 Leylah Annie Fernandez 6-4 6-2 and the world no.32 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2 6-4.
Elena Rybakina will play the world no.1 Iga Swiatek in the final on Saturday at 4:30 pm on Centre Court. Their current record is 3-1 for Rybakina.
Elena has won 2 titles in 2024 in Brisbane and Abu Dhabi.
Elena won 7 titles in her career: 4 on hard courts, 2 on clay courts and 1 on grass courts. (See the list of her titles)
Rybakina has scheduled to compete next in Dubai (Dubai Duty Free Championships). She will start the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 19th of February.
Swiatek in Doha, ranking, and results in 2024
Now the world no.1, Swiatek achieved an overall 10-1 match record in 2024. Swiatek is now competing in Doha where she bested the world no.22 Sorana Cirstea 6-1 6-1, the world no.19 Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-1 6-4, the world no.31 Victoria Azarenka 6-4 6-0 and the world no.59 Karolina Pliskova w/o.
Iga Swiatek will play the world no.4 Elena Rybakina in the final on Saturday at 4:30 pm on Centre Court. Their actual head to head record is 3-1 for Rybakina.
Swiatek clinched 1 title in 2024 in Australia.
The Pole won 18 titles in her career: 11 on hard courts and 7 on clay courts. (See the list of her titles)
Swiatek has scheduled to compete next in Dubai (Dubai Duty Free Championships). She will begin to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 19th of February.
Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek faced off 4 times. Their actual record is 3-1 for Rybakina. The last time they squared off, Elena Rybakina won 2-6 7-6(3) 2-2 ret. in the quarter in Rome (Internazionali BNL d’Italia) in May 2023.
Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek |
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