Veronika Kudermetova has earned her third chance to record her first victory over Iga Swiatek as the players are set to face each other in the semifinals of the Qatar TotalEnergies Open.
The world No.1 Swiatek, defending champion this week in Doha, had an extremely easy route to the semifinals. After a first-round bye, the Pole wasted just 53 minutes to dispatch Danielle Collins and then received a walkover into the quarterfinals as freshly-crowned Abu Dhabi champion Belinda Bencic pulled out following her exhausting second-round match against Victoria Azarenka.
The eighth-seeded Kudermetova advanced with a 6-2 3-6 6-1 win over fourth seed Coco Gauff. The Russian player comfortably won the first set, facing no break points. After losing the second set, despite having a perfect 3/3 break point conversion rate, Kudermetova stormed through the decider and into the semifinals. Before this year, Kudermetova had only won one match in Doha in three previous main-draw appearances.
The remaining two quarterfinal matches are coming up on Thursday evening: Beatriz Haddad Maia vs. Jessica Pegula and Maria Sakkari vs. Caroline Garcia.
Tennis fans around the world are looking forward to another thrilling match as Veronika Kudermetova and Iga Swiatek will face off in the semifinals of the Qatar Open in Doha. After winning her previous matches and seeing off tough opponents, Kudermetova has booked a place in the semifinals against Swiatek, who is also seen as one of the best players on the tour.