Damien Kayat previews the Qatar Ladies Open semi-final between Maria Sakkari and Iga Swiatek as well as the Dubai Duty Free Champs semi-final between Denis Shapolov and Jiri Veesely.
2022 WTA Tour
WTA 1000
Qatar Ladies Open
Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex Doha, Qatar
Selected Semi-Final- 25th February
Maria Sakkari 67/100 | Iga Swiatek 23/20
This has the potential to be a classic, with two of the most gung-ho players on tour going head-to-head for a final berth.
Maria Sakkari is starting to find her groove this year as she looks to replicate her 2021 success. Much like Aryna Sabalenka, Sakkari reached two Grand Slam semi-finals in 2021.
She also reached the semis in Miami. That does seem to be a bit of an Achilles’ heel for the Greek. She has only won one WTA title despite playing some explosive tennis over the past two years.
Can she find a bit more of a cutting edge this year? She is currently 11-3 for the year, reaching the final in St Petersburg last week. She has looked utterly devastating this week.
She is yet to drop a set, controlling every match with her dynamic serve. Her quarterfinal win over American wunderkind Coco Gauff was particularly impressive.
Dynamic Pole Iga Swiatek is into her 3rd semi-final of the 2022 season. She lost at the semi-final stage in Adelaide and the Aussie Open this year. She is certainly one of the most consistent players on the tour at present, with a 12-3 year-to-date record.
This week has really showcased all of the ingredients that have made her such a force on tour. The 2020 French Open champion needed to show her trademark grit to overcome Golubic in three sets.
She then showed her ruthlessness in cutting Daria Kasatkina down to size. And her straight-sets victory over top seed Aryna Sabalenka highlighted her ability to absorb power-hitting.
She redirected Sabalenka’s heavy groundstrokes with aplomb. This should come in handy against the similarly potent hitting of Sakkari.
Verdict: Swiatek to win in three at 42/10
Maria Sakkari has completely dominated their head-to-head rivalry. She actually beat the Pole in straight-sets three times last year. But as I said earlier, Sakkari has occasionally struggled when it gets to the business end of events.
Iga Swiatek seems to possess more of that all-important BMT. I think she will use that Sabalenka victory as the template for this match. Sakkari is so very similar to Sabalenka (even down to their physical appearance). I think Swiatek could grind out a three-set victory here.
2022 ATP Tour
ATP 500 Series
Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
Aviation Cub Tennis Centre (Outdoor Hardcourt)
Selected Semi-Final- 25th February
Denis Shapovalov 9/20 | Jiri Vesely 17/10
I’m sure that Shapovalov is probably just as surprised as everyone else that he is not facing Novak Djokovic in his semi-final clash. This represents an amazing opportunity for the big-serving Canadian to regain his early-season form.
Alongside his great friend Felix Auger Aliassime, Shapovalov helped propel Canada to the ATP Cup title. He then pushed Rafa Nadal all the way in an epic five-set quarterfinal at Melbourne Park.
But his form has petered off since then, with early exits in Rotterdam and Qatar. This week he seems to be progressing nicely. He came back from a set down to win his opening match against Marton Fucsovics.
But he has followed that up with dominant displays against Taro Daniel and Ricardas Berankis. He crushed 14 aces against Berankis, winning a mammoth 85% of his first-serve points. He will be going into this match as the overwhelming favourite.
Wow! Who could have possibly seen that? Someone must have made money off of Jiri Vesely’s upset victory against Djokovic. In straight sets! This must amongst the biggest upsets in recent tennis history.
It also had massive consequences, with the Serb losing his number one ranking. Journeyman pro Jiri Vesely last reached an ATP final at the 2020 Maharashtra Open. And he was really nowhere in terms of form coming into this event.
He was knocked out of the first round in his first three events this year. He then found some traction with a quarterfinal run at this year’s Maharashtra Open. But nobody could have envisaged this. And it isn’t just the Djokovic bombshell.
He came through qualifying this week, only to beat Marin Cilic and Bautista Agut prior to the Djokovic match. Crucially, he hasn’t dropped a set against the trio of Clic, Bautista Agut and Djokovic.
That suggests that the Djokovic performance was actually a continuum of form rather than an aberration.
Verdict: Vesely to win at 17/10
This will be the first career meeting between these two. Shapovalov will go into this as the clear favourite. And I would be comfortable with writing Vesely off had the Djokovic match been an isolated shock.
But three consecutive straight-set wins against world-class players is different. Something has clearly clicked for Vesely this week. He will need to serve well and keep the heat on the Shapovalov 2nd serve.
Shapovlaov has served 14 double faults this week and he could feel some pressure if Vesely steps in on his weaker delivery. I think there’s enough evidence to back the Vesely upset win.
