WTA 500 Doha 2/13 - 2/18 2023

[Suliso]

Don't you think it can cut the other way too? She saved three MP's, and won in a tough 3rd set (it is not as if Samsonova gave her the match). She should be very happy and confident after winning this.

History indicates that title wins in back to back weeks are rare. It does happen, but not sure even every year.

[Suliso]

Oh she can do well but she can't beat Iga on a slow hard court, don't think anyone can..the AO was fast enough, Doha probably isn't.

It's yet to be seen whether Iga version 2023 is as strong as Iga version 2022. It might not be and if so many other players will have a chance. On slow hard courts at least.

[ti-amie]

Day 3 Order of Play

Center Court
Starts at 03:30 PM

Round of 32
CZE K. MUCHOVA vs ITA M. TREVISAN
UPCOMING
Round of 32
CZE B. KREJCIKOVA vs RUS V. KUDERMETOVA (8)
UPCOMING
Round of 32
TUR I. OZ vs BLR V. AZARENKA
UPCOMING
Round of 16
USA C. GAUFF/USA J. PEGULA (1) vs SVK T. MIHALIKOVA/CHN Y. XU

Grandstand 1
Starts at 03:30 PM

Qualifying
CZE K. PLISKOVA (1) vs CAN L. FERNANDEZ (7)
UPCOMING
Round of 16
QAT M. AL-NAIMI/RUS E. YASHINA vs POL A. ROSOLSKA/NZL E. ROUTLIFFE
UPCOMING
Round of 16
USA S. KENIN/CZE K. MUCHOVA vs UKR L. KICHENOK/LAT J. OSTAPENKO (2)

Grandstand 2
Starts at 03:30 PM

Qualifying
CZE M. BOUZKOVA (2) vs CAN R. MARINO
UPCOMING
Round of 16
CHN Z. YANG/RUS V. ZVONAREVA vs CZE M. BOUZKOVA/BRA B. HADDAD MAIA

Court 3
Starts at 03:30 PM

Qualifying
ROU E. RUSE vs BEL E. MERTENS (5)
UPCOMING
Qualifying
BUL V. TOMOVA vs USA M. BRENGLE

[Deuce]

It's not the travel I was worried about. More mental exhaustion after such a tough final.

It's not only the psychological fatigue, but also the physical. These one week tournaments take a physical toll when you reach the Final - even if you get a first round bye.
Asking someone to play at a high level for 2 weeks straight, often on back-to back days, in different cities, different atmospheres, and against top quality opposition, is a very big ask.

[ashkor87]

We will need to see how the court is...too much variety in had courts..if it is slow like AbuDhabi, folks like Pegula will struggle..the one I am tracking is Alexandrova..she has a lot of potential..and a bit of an unknown quantity...I think she can do well here but we shall see..

[ashkor87]

I am glad to see people here are considering the speed of courts as a factor..that wasn't the case a couple years ago..! I remember people telling me I was making too much of it.

[ashkor87]

Oh she can do well but she can't beat Iga on a slow hard court, don't think anyone can..the AO was fast enough, Doha probably isn't.

It's yet to be seen whether Iga version 2023 is as strong as Iga version 2022. It might not be and if so many other players will have a chance. On slow hard courts at least.

I think Iga is more vulnerable on fast courts..on slow courts, I don't think anyone can bear her..she is like Nadal...on a faster court like the AO, people like Collins and Rybakina always had a chance of beating Swiatek, as we have seen .they can make her hurry her shots, push her back, etc. But only on a fast court..I dont see any such courts till the grass season begins..

[ashkor87]

Kudermetova vs Krejcikova is an interesting first round match...Usually Krejcikova wins but Kudermetova is playing much better nowadays...I would expect her to win this time...power vs silky smooth ....

[JTContinental]

Would just like to point out that Rybakina's ranking is not just a result of no Wimbledon points, she's also to blame, Don't lose in the first round of the US Open to a player ranked in the 100s, not to mention a whole lot of pre-QFs exits in the last year and she's not even close to being in this position. Many seem to be acting like no Wimbledon ranking points is just the worst thing ever, but honestly, everyone else is dealing with the same handicap. And look at Sabalenka, Medvedev, and Rublev. No possible points from not just Wimbledon, but anything held in the UK, and they qualify for stuff, because they put up a consistent season.

Remember last season how Rybakina played so well at the mandatory tournaments making a few semis? You don't remember it because it didn't happen. Not a single one. It's part of her not being in the Top 20 rankings problem. Yes, she won Wimbledon, but it was an unremarkable 2022 season in many respects, which is partly why that win was somewhat of a surprise. The Wimbledon points would've masked her inconsistency if they were there as GS points have done for many other player thru the years.

She sort of seems to be back to that early 2020 player that was getting talked about so much. But only at the grand slams so far, right? And clearly not at the US Open. She's in the top 10 now. She'll catch up with the entry ranking points soon enough.

Plus, if she flames out early at Wimbledon this year, nbd--she'll still be in the top 10

[ashkor87]

Would just like to point out that Rybakina's ranking is not just a result of no Wimbledon points, she's also to blame, Don't lose in the first round of the US Open to a player ranked in the 100s, not to mention a whole lot of pre-QFs exits in the last year and she's not even close to being in this position. Many seem to be acting like no Wimbledon ranking points is just the worst thing ever, but honestly, everyone else is dealing with the same handicap. And look at Sabalenka, Medvedev, and Rublev. No possible points from not just Wimbledon, but anything held in the UK, and they qualify for stuff, because they put up a consistent season.

Remember last season how Rybakina played so well at the mandatory tournaments making a few semis? You don't remember it because it didn't happen. Not a single one. It's part of her not being in the Top 20 rankings problem. Yes, she won Wimbledon, but it was an unremarkable 2022 season in many respects, which is partly why that win was somewhat of a surprise. The Wimbledon points would've masked her inconsistency if they were there as GS points have done for many other player thru the years.

She sort of seems to be back to that early 2020 player that was getting talked about so much. But only at the grand slams so far, right? And clearly not at the US Open. She's in the top 10 now. She'll catch up with the entry ranking points soon enough.

Rybakina's win at Wimbledon wasnt a surprise to me, not at all.. she had been been getting there for about a year.. I think.

[Deuce]

Karolina Pliskova beat Leylah 6-2, 7-5 in the final round of qualifying.
It seems strange to see these two playing a qualifying match - but that's where they are right now.

I think it's good for Leylah to play qualies at these tournaments - and I'd even say that it's good for her to lose in qualies or in the 1st round. She got somewhat too full of herself after playing the 2021 U.S. Open Final - all the attention and endorsements - not to mention the access to main draws, the appearance fees, the free hotels, etc. - went to her head. No more than with most people, but I was still disappointed that she became more of a 'celebrity' than a tennis player.

Now, with having to go through qualies - and losing in qualies at times, it will hopefully humble her and make her realize that she's there to play tennis, not to go to galas and do TV commercials to sell various products, and that you're only as good as your last match.

In another final qualifying round match, Canadian Rebecca Marino beat Bouzkova in straight sets. That's surprising. But Marino has been playing well since last summer... and Bouzkova is seemingly having trouble handling being in the top 30. Since entering the top 30, her results have not been good.

In a main draw match, Muchova beat Trevisan easily. Trevisan had a couple of nice months(?) here and there, but she often loses quite convincingly to players of all levels.
Muchova is coming back from a couple of significant injuries... I hope she gets back into the top 20, as her all-court game is very enjoyable to watch.

[ti-amie]

^ I agree about Leylah.

[ti-amie]

Day 4 Order of Play

Center Court
Starts at 02:00 PM

CZE P. KVITOVA vs CHN S. ZHANG
FOLLOWED BY
USA M. KEYS vs LAT J. OSTAPENKO
FOLLOWED BY
BUL V. TOMOVA vs SUI B. BENCIC (7)
FOLLOWED BY
GRE M. SAKKARI (5) vs CHN Q. ZHENG
NOT BEFORE 8:00 PM
RUS D. KASATKINA (6) vs CAN R. MARINO

Grandstand 1
Starts at 02:00 PM

BEL E. MERTENS vs USA D. COLLINS
FOLLOWED BY
USA S. KENIN vs RUS L. SAMSONOVA
FOLLOWED BY
ESP P. BADOSA vs BRA B. HADDAD MAIA
FOLLOWED BY
RUS E. ALEXANDROVA vs CZE K. PLISKOVA

Grandstand 2
Starts at 02:00 PM

TPE H. CHAN/TPE L. CHAN vs USA N. MELICHAR-MARTINEZ/AUS E. PEREZ
FOLLOWED BY
BEL K. FLIPKENS/GER L. SIEGEMUND vs JPN S. AOYAMA/JPN M. NINOMIYA
FOLLOWED BY
BLR V. AZARENKA/BEL E. MERTENS vs USA D. KRAWCZYK/NED D. SCHUURS (3)
FOLLOWED BY
MEX G. OLMOS/CHN S. ZHANG (4) vs KAZ A. DANILINA/BRA L. STEFANI

[ponchi101]

^ I agree about Leylah.

But that is not the path for players that eventually become consistent winners. This is the path of a Chris Lewis, Nathalie Tauziat or Martin Verkerk. Players that reached a slam final, and then simply was proven they were not good enough to maintain such a level.
Currently, look at Podoroska. She made the RG semis, and from there, oblivion. You have to able to build from that, not remain below 50 once your points are gone.
Suliso and I spoke about it when she made it to the USO final. I still wonder if she has the power and size.

Having said that: the qualies for Doha are ridiculous. The level and quality is like a regular 250, which makes me wonder how come there is only one tournament in the WTA this week. I mean, a 250 in both the EU and the USA would be welcomed.

[JazzNU]

Having said that: the qualies for Doha are ridiculous. The level and quality is like a regular 250, which makes me wonder how come there is only one tournament in the WTA this week. I mean, a 250 in both the EU and the USA would be welcomed.

Some qualifying draws are like this for a 500, especially when the tournament pays better.

I would hazard a guess that this is purposely on the calendar by itself and will stay that way. They might pay for that privilege as well. In the last several years, either Doha or Dubai is a Premier 5 event with the other being a Premier event in the same year, now with the 500 and 1000 designations instead. It seems that it's potentially an alternating agreement. And I believe it's typically whichever occurs first that doesn't have competition that week regardless of the designation.

Go back maybe 8 years or so, I believe there used to be more of a South American swing to match the men's side. Rio Open was a combined event at one point and I think there was at least another tournament somewhere in SA too.

Also, and I assume most here remember this, but maybe haven't thought much about it recently - for the last 8-10 years, there has been a well paid and well attended tournament in St. Petersburg, Russia that is no longer on the calendar. There's a second Russian tournament, usually with even higher prize money, that typically took place in Moscow in the Fall that is also no longer on the schedule. There's some shuffling for both being gone most likely along with the missing Chinese tournaments. The Lyon Open appears to have been moved slightly in the calendar from where it used to be and Abu Dhabi was able to happen again (almost certain it's considered the same tournament that kicked off the 2021 season before everyone went to Australia). Last week would've been the St. Petersburg tournament.

Friendly reminder that WTA sponsors don't grow on trees and they face challenges staging tournaments and securing sponsors that the men don't. And why I objected to criticism of the WTA having a 500 event the week before a slam.