Vinay Nayudu
Doha
Quite as expected and much to her promise, Iga Swiatek swept her opponent Jessica Pegula off her feet at the windswept centre court of Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex on Saturday to win the $780,637 Qatar TotalEnergies Open a second successive time.
HH The Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President, Qatar Olympic Committee, besides other dignitaries, witnessed the final with the World No. 1 Swiatek making it a super show.
The Pole, Swiatek surrendered only five games on her way to a 6-3, 6-0 victory over American Pegula.
A heavy defeat to Pegula in Sydney at the beginning of the year saw Swiatek reduced to tears, and she then lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open in Melbourne, albeit to eventual finalist Elena Rybakina.
Now Swiatek is back, with brutal wins over Danielle Collins and Veronika Kudermetova – allowing both players just one game each – preceding her dismissal of Pegula in the final.
The 21-year-old has 12 career titles and is off the mark in 2023, extending her head-to-head dominance to 5-2 over world number four Pegula.
Swiatek had sent out a warning soon after the semi-final on Friday when she beat Russian Veronika Kudermetova 6-0, 6-1 with both finesses and ease.
“I may have spent less hours on the court but that will be in my favour because I feel fresh. It’s kind of weird to feel fresh in the final. But I have pretty good experience from playing on center court last year, so I don’t feel like I need more time. I feel like I’m ready,” she had said.
After winning the final, Swiatek said: “I don’t care how many games are won or lost. I just feel like I really found my rhythm here, and after a tough beginning of the season I could stay focused from the beginning to the end of the matches, and I’m pretty happy with my performance. I hope playing well here is going to be a routine.”
Swiatek becomes the first player to defend a Hologic WTA Tour singles title since she won her second straight Rome title in May of last year.
For the second year in a row, Doha is the site of Swiatek’s first title of the season. Last year, her Doha title run was the start of something big -- a 37-match winning streak, culminating in her second Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.
Swiatek used heavy replies off of the Pegula service to go up a break at both 2-0 and 4-2, but Pegula immediately broke back each time, forcing Swiatek into errors by using her exceptional speed to extend rallies.
Nevertheless, the top seed again attacked the Pegula delivery with more thunderous replies to break for a 5-3 lead. This time, Swiatek would not be pulled back level, as she powered to a love hold to take the one-set lead.
After a close opening set, Swiatek had things almost entirely her own way in the second set. Swiatek won 73 percent of points returning Pegula’s second service in the match, leading to six service breaks on the day.
