Iga Swiatek won the 2024 Qatar Open, but she didn't feel all too confident before the event, admitting that she thought she was going to lose in the second round.
The Qatar Open has been a tremendous event for Swiatek so far in her career. She first won in Doha in 2022 when she bested Anett Kontaveit in the final 6-2, 6-0. One year later, she returned and successfully defended her trophy by beating Jessica Pegula in the final 6-3, 6-0.
Now, in 2024, Swiatek added another trophy by beating Elena Rybakina in the final 7-6(8), 6-2, achieving an incredible three-peat, something we haven't seen since Serena Williams did it a decade ago at the Miami Open.
It's an incredible achievement and totally unexpected, according to the Polish player. Speaking with the WTA, after her win over Rybakina, Swiatek admitted that she didn't feel confident before the event.
She actually thought that she was going to lose in the second round, when she experienced lack of confidence.,
"I thought I'm gonna lose here in second round. I wasn't feeling really confident before the tournament. I didn't also have some peaceful time at home to just focus on working, so I wasn't really expecting a lot."
She didn't really have any trouble in her second match as she bested Ekaterina Alexadnrova 6-1, 6-4. Even the next match against Victoria Azarenka was pretty painless, 6-4 6-0.
Her hardest match was the final against Rybakina, and that's one she really could have lost, but she gave it all, and good things came.
"And then, you know, it felt like if you're going to give 100 percent and work hard, good things may come."
Now she looks ahead to the Dubai event, where she made the final last year. She lost that final, so let's see what this year brings and whether she can possibly go one step further.
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