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Iga Swiatek lights up tennis world in brutal takedown of Danielle Collins

The World No.1's devastating act at the Qatar Open has left tennis fans in a state of disbelief.

Andrew Reid
·4-min read
Pictured here, Iga Swiatek clinching match point against Danielle Collins at the Qatar Open.
Iga Swiatek gave Danielle Collins an absolute hiding at the Qatar Open. Pic: WTA/Getty

Iga Swiatek has sent an ominous message to her tennis rivals after a devastating display against American star Danielle Collins at the Qatar Open. The World No.1 - playing her first match since a fourth round exit at the Australian Open - put on an absolute clinic in a 6-0 6-1 thrashing of Collins in Doha.

Swiatek lost just four points in the entire opening set, which she wrapped up in a staggering 21 minutes. After losing nine successive games, American Collins finally got on the scoreboard at 3-1 in the second set, but it did little to halt Swiatek's momentum.

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Indeed, when the Pole broke for a fifth time, she had one foot in the next round as Collins had no answers to the rampaging No.1. Having made just six unforced errors in the entire match, Swiatek held serve to complete the straight-sets rout in just 53 minutes.

"[I felt] pretty confident," Swiatek told reporters. "I'm happy that I was kind of composed and from the beginning till the end pretty focused and disciplined with tactics.

"I didn't really let Danielle get into the rhythm. I wanted to be aggressive. I'm pretty happy that I did that well." The extraordinary performance left tennis fans in awe of the three-time grand slam winner, who looks hungrier than ever after her defeat to Australian Open runner-up Elena Rybakina.

Belinda Bencic withdraws from Iga Swiatek match

The Polish star's win looked to have set up a quarter-final showdown with last weekend's Abu Dhabi champion and World No.9 Belinda Bencic, however, the Swiss withdrew from the tournament shortly after her stirring win over Victoria Azarenka. The seventh seed came from behind to beat Azarenka 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4, but her withdrawal means Swiatek is straight through to the semi-finals.

Bencic beat two-time champion Victoria Azarenka 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 to take her place in the last 16, storming back from 4-1 down in the second set when she appeared to be on her way out. Second seed Jessica Pegula saved two match puts as she dug deep to beat Jelena Ostapenko 6-2 2-6 7-5 to set up a meeting with Beatriz Haddad Maia, who beat Daria Kasatkina in straight sets.

Fourth seed Coco Gauff got the better of Petra Kvitova 6-3 7-6 (8-6). Kvitova, the champion in Doha in 2018 and 2021, racked up 21 winners but was undone by 31 unforced errors to Gauff's 14.

Seen here, Coco Gauff returning a shot against Petra Kvitova at the Qatar Open.
Coco Gauff returns a shot against Petra Kvitova at the Qatar Open. Pic: Getty (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

"I felt like I have watched her for a long time, and it was weird playing her in that respect, because it's like almost meeting a celebrity in a way," Gauff said of two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova.

The 18-year-old Gauff will next face Veronika Kudermetova, who reached her fourth quarter-final of 2023 with a 6-2, 7-5 defeat of former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin. Third seed Caroline Garcia survived a scare before pulling through to beat world No.123 Karolina Muchova 6-7 (7-3) 7-5 6-4 in a match that lasted three hours. Maria Sakkari also made it through to the last-eight with a 6-3 6-2 win over Ekaterina Alexandrova.

with agencies

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