Iga Swiatek was thrilled about her “smart” tennis against Veronika Kudermetova and noted she will now need to “play her best tennis” in the Doha final against Jessica Pegula. In the Doha semifinal, top-seeded Swiatek destroyed Kudermetova 6-0 6-1.
“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. I’m pretty happy that I was so solid,” Swiatek said, per the WTA website. Now, Swiatek is a win away from defending her Doha title.
In the Doha final, Swiatek plays second-seeded Pegula. “It always takes a lot to win against Jessie. She’s a great player, a really solid one. We’ll see, honestly. I’m not going to predict anything or over-analyze. I’m just going to go out and play my best tennis, and we’ll see,” Swiatek said of facing Pegula.
Swiatek was demolished by Pegula at the start of the season
When Swiatek and Pegula met for the first time in 2019 Washington, the American claimed a three-set win over the Pole. After not meeting at all in 2020 and 2021, Swiatek and Pegula clashed four times last year.
In all of those four meetings, Swiatek was the one who ended on the winning side each time. But after losing four times to Swiatek in 2022, Pegula delivered a statement win over the world No 1 at the inaugural United Cup as she dismantled the Pole 6-2 6-2.
After losing to Pegula at the United Cup, Swiatek was visibly emotional and broke down in tears. Now, Swiatek is set to meet Pegula again and she is the favorite to win. Swiatek has played just two matches en route to reaching the Doha final – she had a first-round bye and Belinda Bencic gave her a walkover in the quarterfinal.
In those two matches played, Swiatek claimed two wins with identical scorelines – she beat Kudermetova and Danielle Collins 6-0 6-1. It remains to be seen if Swiatek can beat Pegula for her first title of the season.
