Iga Swiatek says it’s not that she delivers perfect tennis in Doha but somehow always managed to find a way to win in the Qatar event.
This week, the 23-year-old has a chance to write tennis history as she could become only the second player this century to complete a four-peat at the tournament.
And on Monday, she made a winning start to the Qatar Open after ousting Maria Sakkari 6-3 6-2.
Now, Swiatek owns a lifetime 14-1 record in Doha.
Her first and lone loss in Qatar came in her tournament debut in 2020, when she was beaten by Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Since then, the five-time Grand Slam winner has lost only one set in Doha.
Swiatek asked to reveal her secret to her Doha success
“Honestly, hard to say. From what I remember it’s not like I’ve been playing flawlessly, so it’s not like these tournaments were perfect, but at some point always I found some solution,” the Pole explained.
“I think the conditions here are pretty tricky, and I was patient enough to just keep focusing on my game.
“Every year it’s different, every year there is a different story, so it’s hard to compare and hard to find one thing that worked exactly.”
While Doha is absolutely one of Swiatek’s favorite spots and a happy hunting place, the 23-year-old doesn’t want to get ahead of herself and think that another title at the Qatar Open will come easily.
“I’m already kind of focusing on the next one, not really coming back to what happened last years,” the world No. 2 noted.
In the Doha second round, the Polish tennis star plays against Linda Noskova, who stunned her in the Australian Open third round last year.
Although Noskova managed to beat Swiatek in the past, there is no doubt that the No. 2 seed will still enter the match as the big favorite.
Tennis World USA