The Baseline Player of the Week: Iga Swiatek
The former French Open champion dominated red-hot Anett Kontaveit in the Doha final.
Iga Swiatek is back to her dominating ways.
The Pole swept aside Anett Kontaveit in the final of the Qatar Open, 6-2, 6-0, capping a tournament where Swiatek appeared to be on a mission. The 20-year-old dropped only one set—in the first round, against Viktorija Golubic—before easily defeating Daria Kasatkina (6-3, 6-0), Aryna Sabalenka (6-2, 6-3) and Maria Sakkari (6-4, 6-3).
This is the fourth career title for Swiatek and her second WTA 1000 title, alongside Rome in 2021 where she defeated Karolina Pliskova, 6-0, 6-0. With the win, Swiatek returns to world No. 4, a ranking she previously occupied in October 2021.
"I'm pretty happy that I was composed and I stayed in the same shape I was for the whole tournament, because playing finals is a different feeling," Swiatek said, after her win. "It's always a little bit more stress...I knew that Anett is going to play well...I needed to put pressure on her, and I'm pretty happy that I did that well today."
Swiatek now leads 3-2 against Kontaveit, with the Pole winning their last three meetings.