Iga Swiatek wins 15th straight match in Doha, levels record against Elena Rybakina

Iga Swiatek faced two potentially formidable foes in her Doha quarterfinal on Thursday. (1) A Top 5 opponent, in Elena Rybakina, who had a 4-3 record against her; and (2) Her own ability to recover, mentally and physically, from a draining three-set win over Linda Noskova less than 24 hours earlier.

It didn’t take the three-time defending champion long—maybe six points, tops—to show that her recovery wasn’t going to be a problem. In the second game, Swiatek stepped inside the baseline and sent a backhand down the line for a winner that put her up 0-30 on Rybakina’s serve. The shot was perfectly timed and measured, and cleanly struck. You could see, from the stroke itself and Swiatek’s early display of determination and positivity, that she was up for the challenge of winning tough matches on consecutive days.

All that was left to do was beat her other foe, Rybakina. For the rest of the first set, she did that handily as well. Swiatek moved the 6-foot Moscow native from side to side and exposed her sometimes sluggish defenses. She broke her for 2-0, and again when Rybakina served at 2-5. Swiatek was superior on the attack and in the defense, with her serve, her return—and with her smash, which was sharp early.

But Rybakina had that 4-3 record against Swiatek for a reason, and she managed to stop her momentum, and briefly swing the match in her direction, at the start of the second set. She began to move better, to cut off the angles in the corners, and to match Swiatek’s baseline power with her own. She broke in the first game with a strong return, saved two break points at 1-0, and three more at 2-1. By the time Rybakina was up 4-2, a third set looked inevitable.

The beginning of the second set I felt like she increased her level. So I needed to do that, too, to come back. Iga Swiatek

To everyone except Swiatek, that is. Down 2-4, 15-30, the No. 2 seed dug out a backhand volley that dropped short for a winner, and reacted with a fist-pump and a loud “Come on!” She knew that if she could keep it to one break she had a chance. She was right.

After a long struggle, Swiatek finally held for 3-4. In the next game, when she got a look at a forehand pass on her sixth break point of the set, she didn’t let the opportunity slip. Swiatek dipped the ball below Rybakina’s racquet to make it 4-4.

Still, Rybakina wasn’t done. She found another level with her backhand, and twice reached break point at 4-4. This time, in a role reversal between the two players, it was Swiatek’s first serve that rescued her. Twice she saved break points with serves aimed right into Rybakina’s body.

That would be Rybakina’s final challenge. Serving at 5-6, she let a 40-30 lead slip, and double-faulted at match point. It was a contest that briefly promised much more drama, but ended abruptly and anticlimactically.

“The beginning of the second set I felt like she increased her level,” said Swiatek, who won her 15th straight match in Doha. “So I needed to do that, too, to come back.”

“I’m really happy that especially over the last game that I was able to break Elena, because with her first serve for sure it’s tough.”

Was this a performance that will launch Swiatek to another level, and to her fourth straight title in Doha? She’ll face the either Ons Jabeur or Jelena Ostapenko in the semifinals.