Sakkari ends Swiatek’s title bid, Mboko stuns Rybakina

Doha: Maria Sakkari ended Iga Swiatek s bid for a fourth Qatar TotalEnergies title with a hard fought quarter final win at the in Doha yesterday. T...

Doha: Maria Sakkari ended Iga Swiatek’s bid for a fourth Qatar TotalEnergies title with a hard-fought quarter-final win at the in Doha yesterday.

The Greek star, ranked 50 spots below Swiatek, battled past the world No. 2 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 in a two-hour 29-minute-long contest to book her place in the last four.

“You are always the underdog when playing against the No. 2 in the world, especially where I’m coming from. But I kept telling myself, even after the first set, that I was playing good tennis, and that I had to stick to my game plan and the way I was playing. I was aggressive, I was brave, and it worked out really well,” a jubilant Sakkari said during a post-match press conference at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.

Swiatek held off a late fightback to take the first set, but Sakkari raised her level in the following set and forced a decider. The Greek broke early in the third, survived a brief comeback, and sealed victory on her third match point after a tense finish.

The result leaves their head-to-head record locked at 4-4.