New Delhi: Ekaterina Alexandrova continued her hot form to produce her third upset in as many matches as she stunned World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) in Qatar Open’s second round in Doha.
Top seed Sabalenka looked to be sailing smoothly but Alexandrova overturned a break down twice in the deciding set and held her serve to stay in the match twice to notch up her second career win over a top-ranked player.
Commenting about her win, Alexandrova said it needed a lot of energy and focus to stay on par with Sabalenka’s level over their match that stretched for two-and-a-half hours.
WHAT AN UPSET 😱
Ekaterina Alexandrova has knocked out the World No. 1 in Doha, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5)!#QatarTotalEnergiesOpen pic.twitter.com/uQS0wlneMI
— wta (@WTA) February 11, 2025
“It was a very difficult match to play against her, because she’s a fighter and she plays every single point. not matter what,” she said after the match.
“I told myself before the match that you just need to do the maximum you can do tonight, and if you lose, you know that you’ve tried everything.”
Gauff shocked
In another upset result, Marta Kostyuk shocked third seed Coco Gauff 6-2, 7-5 to set up a third-round match against Magda Linette, who registered a 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 win over Magdalena Frech in a match that went on for nearly three hours.
Top 10 seeds Jasmine Paolini and Elena Rybakina both won their matches in straight sets to advance to the last 16 in Doha, even though World No. 10 Paula Badosa went down 6-4, 6-3 to Amanda Anisimova.
No. 4 Paolini overturned a break in the second set to defeat wild card entrant Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-4 in 1 hour and 12 minutes. No. 5 Elena Rybakina shook off a late charge by Peyton Stearns to win 6-2, 6-4 in 1 hour and 13 minutes.
Tenth seed Daria Kasatkina also entered the round of 16 with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Elina Avanesyan. Earlier, former World No.1 Iga Swiatek beat Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-2 in the second round.
After Badosa, Gauff and Sabalenka’s exit, three of the four quarter-finalists in Doha would be unseeded in the top half of the draw.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka went down 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) to Ekaterina Alexandrova in the second round of Qatar Open in Doha. Tennis Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
