Doha Qatar TotalEnergies Open Quarterfinal Preview
There has been a fair bit of big-name carnage in Doha: No. 1 Sabalenka, No. 3 Gauff and No. 4 Paolini are all out. That leaves Swiatek and Rybakina as the highest seeds. They were also last year’s finalists.
Swiatek won that match, as well as their most recent meeting, last month at United Cup. Overall, though, Rybakina has more than held her own, and made this into a legitimate rivalry. She leads their head-to-head 4-3, and won their only match at a major, two years ago in Australia.
The 6-foot Rybakina has one of the game’s best serves, which comes in handy as a way to neutralize Swiatek’s biggest weapon, her return. Rybakina can also rush Swiatek’s forehand with pace from the ground.
All of which makes me wonder if Swiatek, in her close win over the similarly power-oriented Linda Noskova on Wednesday, just had the perfect practice session for this match.—Steve Tignor
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