Iga Swiatek has a new winning streak going, and she's going to hope to keep it going against Sloane Stephens at the 2024 Dubai Championships.
Last year's Doha - Dubai stretch was amazing for Swiatek because she won Doha and then made the final in Dubai. She did half of that already by winning Doha this year, and now it's about taking it another step further at the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai.
The start will be against Stephens, a familiar player whom Swiatek had already played before. The American is a solid player but is far removed from her best days. She can play well at times, but mostly hovers around a level that is not good enough to trouble some of the best players in the world, like Swiatek.
Head-to-head:
They played two times so far, and both of those came in 2022, with Swiatek winning on both occasions. Neither was a dominant performance that we're used to seeing from Swiatek, so Stpehens clearly can play her tough and close, but she was never close to winning those matches.
Still, the Polish player is playing well right now and should have a lot of confidence going into Dubai. She made the final last year, so there is no reason for her to feel nervous about this match.
| Iga Swiatek | Sloane Stephens | |
| 2 | H2H | 0 |
| 1 | Rank | 41 |
| 22 | Age | 30 |
| 11-1 | 2024 W/L | 4-4 |
| 292-67 | Career W/L | 388-281 |
Prediction:
The biggest issue for Stephens is Swiatek's movement, which is great and rarely puts her out of position. The baseline play is also more consistent with the Polish player, so there is not much Stephens can do.
She can hope for a great day tennis-wise for her and a bad one for Swiatek, but the likelihood of that happening is very slim. So, back to the world number one to get off to a winning start in Dubai.
Prediction: Iga Swiatek to win in two sets.
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