Iga Swiatek stuns tennis world in 'scary' act at Qatar Open

World No.1 and defending champion Iga Swiatek has left tennis fans gobsmacked after a brutal display in the semi-finals of the Qatar Open. Fresh from her ruthless dispatching of Danielle Collins by the same score in her previous match, the Polish superstar repeated the trick with a 6-0 6-1 drubbing of Veronika Kudermetova in Doha.

The French and US Open will face World No.4 Jessica Pegula for the title after the American beat Greek fifth seed Maria Sakkari 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 in just under two hours. However, the manner of Swiatek's last two victories will no doubt have Pegula a little worried.

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Just like she did in an unrelenting display against Collins in her last match, Swiatek crushed Kudermetova in the first set after wrapping it up in just 25 minutes. While her Russian opponent was able to register the solitary game in the second stanza, it was largely one-way traffic as the Pole blew her hapless rival off the court.

The Pole lost just the one game in another victory that came within the hour, with Kudermetova sent packing after just 56 minutes. Following her crushing win over Collins, Swiatek was given a walkover into the semi-final by Belinda Bencic, meaning after thrashing Kudermetova she has dropped just the two games all tournament.

The top seed coped with blustery conditions the better of the two in the Qatari capital, hitting 14 winners to five unforced errors and breaking serve five times. Swiatek won all four matches she played against Pegula last season, with French Open and US Open quarter-finals victories among that set

"I was pretty worried about how I was going to compete with the conditions today, so I'm glad that I could play the smart way," Swiatek told wtatennis.com. "I'm pretty happy that I was so solid."

Swiatek is playing her first event since suffering a disappointing fourth round exit at the Australian Open in January. Any concerns on how that might affect her mentally in 2023 has so far been brutally dismissed, with fans describing her current form as "scary".

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When Swiatek lost to Pegula in early January at the United Cup in Sydney, the Pole was left in tears after winning just four games. The Pole did, however, win all four matches she played against Pegula last season, with French Open and US Open quarter-finals victories among them.

Swiatek is relishing the chance to test herself against Pegula again, saying: "It always takes a lot to win against Jessie. She's a great player, a really solid one, and we'll see, honestly. I'm not going to predict anything or over-analyse, I'll just play my best tennis."

Pegula will be playing in her first final of 2023 on Saturday, but the sixth of her career, having looked like heading towards a straight-sets win against Sakkari in the other semi-final. The American led 6-2, 4-2 but Sakkari dug deep to send the contest into a deciding third set.

"That was probably the hardest conditions I've ever had to play in, wind-wise," Pegula said. I'm glad I didn't get too frustrated. I think I played very smart."

with agencies

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