The 2022 WTA1000 Qatar Open continues in Doha, where the last matchday saw the birth of all eight finals against Sabalenka vs Swatek, Gauff vs. Sakkari, Jabal vs. Kontaveit, Muguruza vs Ostapenko.
The quarter-finals were on the verge of breaking out, with No. 6 seed Sakkari beating No. 14 seed Gauff 6-3, 6-3, to maintain a full victory in three hard-court encounters between the two sides, following St. Petersburg to reach the final four again. This is the fourth time the Greek has reached the final four of the WTA 1000 class, and she will launch a push to the highest final of her career so far, waiting for the winner between Sabalenka and Swatek.
No. 4 seed Kontawirt then beat No. 8 seed Abdel Abdul-Jabbar 6-4, 6-1 to win an eight-game winning streak and reach the semifinals six times in her last seven tournaments (three times this year), making her fourth career semifinals at the WTA 1000 class. Next, the Estonians will wait for the winner between Muguruzza and Ostapenko.
No. 5 seed Muguruza vs. No. 15 seed Ostapenko, Muguruza will compete with Ostapenko for a place in the final four in Doha. The former led 3-1 in the record between the two sides, while the latter maintained an eight-game winning streak in the Middle East season, during which he beat five Grand Slam champions. Who will have the last laugh at this reunion?
In the end, Ostapenko swept Muguruza 6-2, 6-2, and reached the final four after six years. The Latvian extended the Middle East season winning streak to nine, beating six Grand Slam winners. She will compete for the right to the final with Kontawirt, who is also currently holding an eight-game winning streak, and Ostapenko's last defeat was in St. Petersburg.
In the final quarter-finals, top seed Sabarenka will be separated from No. 7 seed Svatek, and the Belarusian is the only former champion in the quarterfinals, and she needs to reach the final to maintain the world's second place. Swataker has reached two final fours this year and is fighting to avenge last year's loss in the finals. In this TOP10 showdown, who are you optimistic about winning?
In the end, Swatak sent the Invisible Egg 0-3 in the second set to beat top seed Sabarenka 6-2, 6-3 to avenge last year's loss in the finals and reach the Final Four of the Tour for the third time this year. This is the second time that a Polish girl has reached the semi-finals of the WTA 1000 class (Roma last year), and she will compete with Sakkari for the right to the final. The two sides had met three times before, and Swatek had all lost.
In this way, the 2022 WTA1000 Qatar Open Final Four was born, followed by Sakkari vs Swatak, Kontaveit vs Ostapenko. In addition, in the women's doubles semi-finals in Doha, No. 3 seeds Kudmetova/Mertens swept 6-0, 6-3 through Hradetska/Mirza to advance to the final waiting for the winner between Shuko Aoyama/Klunic and Gauff/Pergula. The two won the cup in Dubai last week, can they win the Middle East double?