Iga Swiatek hasn't lost at the Qatar Open in over two years, but if anybody can do it, it's going to be Karolina Pliskova, who is playing on an insane level right now.
Pliskova had one of her better weeks last week in Cluj-Napoca and she won the trophy. It was her first trophy in years so it was a major moment for the Czech player.
Not even a full 24 hours later, Pliskova was standing on the courts in Doha, playing her first-round match at the WTA 1000 event. It wasn't ideal, and she wasn't rested, but she pulled through.
She kept winning, beating Naomi Osaka in the quarter-finals to advance to the semi-final of the competition. The semi-final will be her eighth match in as many days, and it's going to be against world number one Iga Swiatek, who hasn't lost in Doha in over two years.
It's a really interesting matchup coming at a time when both are playing super good tennis.
Head-to-head:
Pliskova has not had a lot of luck against Swiatek in the past. Nobody will ever forget the infamous Italian Open 6-0, 6-0 demolition, but even outside of that, she's yet to win a match against the reigning world number one.
The overall H2H score is 3-0, including two matches last year, which were both wins for Swiatek. The Czech has a simple problem - movement. The Pole can easily blitz around the court, creating a lot of nightmares for Pliskova.
| Iga Swiatek | Karolina Pliskova | |
| 3 | H2H | 0 |
| 1 | Rank | 59 |
| 22 | Age | 31 |
| 7-1 | 2024 W/L | 6-3 |
| 288-67 | Career W/L | 627-359 |
Prediction:
The Czech player can win win the match, but she will need a lot of things to go right for her. I don't really see it happening in Doha because Swiatek plays amazing tennis in the city. She won the event last year and the year before, and I think she'll win this match too.
Prediction: Iga Swiatek to win in two sets.
0 Comments