Number 5 seed Kiki Bertens rallied from one set down to edge Camila Giorgi 0-6 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 in just under two hours in the first round of the Qatar Total Open in Doha.
Giorgi hit 35 winners to just 15 for Bertens, who won 80 % of her first service points in the third set to claim a come-back win.
Giorgi forced a long backhand from Bertens to earn the first break for 2-0 in the second game. Giorgi came back from 15-40 down in the fourth game to get the second break for 4-0. In the fifth game the Italian rallied from 0-40 down to hold her service game for 5-0. She broke for the third time at love with a backhand down the line winner to close out the first set with a bagel.
Bertens won her first game by holding her serve for 1-1 before getting the break in the third game for 2-1 after three double faults from Giorgi. The Italian player pulled back the break in the sixth game to draw level to 3-3. Bertens got another break in the seventh game and earned two set points on Giorgi’s serve at 5-3, but the Italian fended them off with a forehand winner and an ace. Giorgi broke serve to draw level to 5-5 after a series of unforced errors from Bertens.
In the tie-break Giorgi raced out to a 5-1 lead, but Bertens hit an ace to claw her way back to 2-5. The Dutch player won three consecutive games to draw level to 5-5. Bertens sealed the tie-break 9-7 on her fifth set point.
Bertens hit a crosscourt forehand winner to break serve in the second game of the third set for 2-0. Giorgi pulled the break back to close the gap to 2-3 and held serve to draw level to 3-3. Both players traded breaks again before Bertens held serve for 5-4. Bertens earned three match points. Giorgi fended off the first chance with a forehand winner, but Bertens wrapped up the match on the second opportunity, when Giorgi hit her backhand wide. Bertens now leads 2-1 in her head-to-head matches against Giorgi.
Jelena Ostapenko overcame Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-1 4-6 6-2 after 1 hour and 45 minutes in a re-match of the second round match played in Doha last year. Ostapenko, who reached the final in Doha in 2016, converted serven of her twenty break points. After losing their first clash in Doha last year Ostapenko has beaten her Romanian rival in their last two clashes in Eastbourne 2018 and Doha 2019.
“I remember that match from last year, and I think I was kind of rushing with my game a lot and I was making a lot of unforced errors. Today I think the first set I played really well, but something changed a little bit, but I managed to win it”, said Ostapenko.
Ostapenko rallied from 0-40 down to earn three break points and claimed the break with a crosscourt backhand winner. The 2017 Roland Garros champion won all 12 of her service points and broke twice more to seal the opening set 6-1.
Buzarnescu fended off four break points in her first service game, before earning her first break points of the match in the fifth game and got the break to take a 3-2 lead. A streak of five consecutive breaks followed. Buzarnescu saved two break points at 5-4 to get back to deuce. The Romanian player held serve to seal the second set 6-4.
Ostapenko saved four break points before claiming her first break in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead, when Buzarnescu made her 12th double fault. Ostapenko saved one break point to hold serve for 4-1. The Latvian player hit a return winner at 5-2 to earn her first match point on Buzarnescu’s serve. Ostapenko sealed the match on her first opportunity, when Buzarnescu sent her forehand long.
Ostapenko set up a second round match against Elina Svitolina. The Latvian player leads 2-0 in their previous two head-to-head matches.
Russian qualifier Anna Blinkova upset number 7 seed Anastasjia Sevastova 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 after 1 hour and 43 minutes.
World number 95 Blinkova broke serve at 30 in the first game of the opening set. The Russian player, who beat Samantha Stosur in the final round of the qualifying round, was broken back, as she was serving for the first set at 5-4. Blinkova broke again at deuce to take a 6-5, but she dropped serve in the 12th game sending the first set to the tie-break. Blinkova closed out the tie-break, when Sevastova netted two consecutive shots.
Blinkova converted her second break point chance in the sixth game to open up a 4-2 lead. Sevastova called a medical time-out a game away from dfeat but she rallied by breaking back at 15 in the ninth game to claw her way back to 4-5, when Blinkova made her sixth double fault. Blinkova sealed the win with a break on her second match point, as Sevastova hit her forehand into the net.
Julia Goerges started her Doha campaign with a 6-2 6-2 win over Alja Tomljanovic after 1 hour and 17 minutes. The German player broke twice in each set and saved all eight break points she faced.
Qualifier Karolina Muchova beat Samantha Stosur 6-4 6-2. Carla Suarzer Navarro dropped just four games in her 6-3 6-1 win over Ons Jabeur. Elise Mertens dropped her serve only once in her 6-4 6-2 win over Katerina Siniakova.
