Anett Kontaveit has extended her winning streak to beat last week’s Dubai champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-1 6-4 in just 68 minutes in the semifinals of the Qatar Total Energies in Doha.
Kontaveit has reached her second WTA 1000 final with her ninth consecutive win.
The Estonian player has reached her seventh final since last August and won five titles in Cleveland, Ostrava Cluj Napoca, Moscow in 2021 and St. Petersburg in 2022. She has reached her second career WTA 1000 final following Wuhan 2018.
Kontaveit has won four of her five head-to-head matches against Ostapenko, who beat her Estonian opponent in the Eastbourne final last July.
Kontaveit rallied from 0-40 down to earn her first break in the fourth game at deuce to take a 3-1 lead. The Estonian player sealed the first set 6-1 with a double break in the sixth game.
Kontaveit extended his winning streak to eight consecutive games to build a 3-0 lead with two breaks of serve. Ostapenko pulled one of the two breaks in the fourth game. Kontaveit saved two break-back points to hold serve for 6-4 in the 10th game, as she was serving out the match.
Kontaveit set up a final against Iga Swiatek, who beat Maria Sakkari 6-4 6-3 in 1 hour and 28 minutes in the second semifinal. They are 2-2 in their four head-to-head matches. Swiatek won their most recent head-to-head matches against Kontaveit at Roland Garros and at the US Open.
Swiatek reached the Doha for the first time in her career. The Polish player will be chasing her fourth career WTA singles title.
Sakkari had won all her previous head-to-head matches against Swiatek in straight sets last year.
Swiatek earned an early break in the third game to take a 2-1 lead, but Sakkari broke back after a hard-fought sixth game to draw level to 3-3. Swiatek sealed the first set 6-4 with a forehand winner. Both players traded breaks twice in the early games of the second set, including three consecutive breaks at love from 2-2 to 3-3. Swiatek earned a crucial break in the eighth break to take a 5-3 lead after a wide error by Sakkari on break point. Swiatek earned her first match point in the next game with an error-forcing forehand and sealed the win with another forehand.
