2024 WTA Doha 1000

[ktx]

But Kaja Pliskova is serving for the match after being down a break in the third! 6 days straight of tennis. I would love to see her with some good results again.

 

[ScottleeSV]

Worst result Gauff has had since Wimbledon? Usually goes deep virtually every tournament now.

 

[coolcamden]

Ons and Sakkari, take a long extended break please.

 

[Mr.Lob]

Jabeur taking the rest of the week off.

 

[Connor35]

Naomi with a hard fought win to put 2 back to back.

 

[spystud]

Helluva Wednesday.

11 Slam champs or finalists.

 

[Kralingen]

Leylah Fernandez is killing it, man. This is the best tennis I’ve seen from her since 2022.

 

[NaomiKonjuhPotapova]

I definitely curse CG and ZQ @coolcamden

 

[NaomiKonjuhPotapova]

Tsurenko pull out, Osaka through to QF. Hopefully facing Noskova.

 

[robyrolfo]

I definitely curse CG and ZQ @coolcamden

Zheng making that final (thanks to another example of a laughable draw) is likely going to do her more harm than good. Lot's of people are hyping her, but I see yet another WTA player that can look great when things are going her way, and painfully average when they are not.

 

[Mr.Lob]

Navarro digs out of a 0-4 tiebreaker hole to even it at 1 set apiece.

 

[coolcamden]

I definitely curse CG and ZQ @coolcamden

Please please start calling for Arazenka to win. I can’t stand her, and need all the help I can get.

 

[slipgrip93]

Noskova, somewhat of a breakdown in 3rd set loss to veteran Pliskova.
Rybakina, in 3rd set , with a few 'sampras' like service games while Navarro challenging her with strong groundstrokes.

 

[Mr.Lob]

A little nervy to close it out, but Kybakina takes a hard fought win over Navarro 6-1, 6-7, 6-4.

 

[Kralingen]

Osaka-Pliskova tomorrow should be fun.

 

[spystud]

28-minute bagel from Vika to Jelena.

 

[Cage Rattler]

Penko's nemesis delivers again ...

 

[_phantom]

Penko refused to shake hands. Offered racket bump instead, Azarenka refused.

 

[spystud]

0 & 3 for Vika.

JO can chill before Dubai.

 

[spystud]

Penko refused to shake hands. Offered racket bump instead, Azarenka refused.

Very icy.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1757863285339177406

 

[_phantom]

Very icy.

Awkward and unnecessary.

 

[ScentOfDefeat]

My two favourites (Fernandez and Rybakina) playing each other.
Ugh.

 

[ScentOfDefeat]

What's with Ostapenko's mental block against Azarenka? Vika isn't even half the player she was 10 years ago.

 

[spystud]

Gonna put the final eight in spoiler just so the page isn't long.

Spoiler

Pretty damn strong lineup.

 

[ScottleeSV]

Yeah good line-up. Particularly looking forward to the top 2 matches.

 

[coolcamden]

I’m thinking Osaka has a very, very good chance here.

 

[NaomiKonjuhPotapova]

I’m thinking Osaka has a very, very good chance here.

and to be bagel by Iga. she's so not ready.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

I’m thinking Osaka has a very, very good chance here.

and to be bagel by Iga. she's so not ready.

Well she's facing Pliskova first before a possible SF against Swiatek or Vika.

Naomi of course played K Plish in her return last month in Brisbane, she won the first set before losing in 3.

So she has a good chance, Pliskova though is on an 8 match winning streak after her Transylvania title last week.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

(1) Swiatek v Azarenka
(PR) Osaka v Pliskova
Fernandez v (3) Rybakina
Pavlyuchenkova v (Q) Collins

Even with all the upsets and only 2 seeds, the QF's are still stacked.

4 slam champs, the other 4 are all slam runner ups with Pliskova also a former #1.

 

[Connor35]

Exactly. People talk about the lack of depth these days -- but it's never been deeper when you have former Slam champs and finalists who are unseeded but can show up with their Slam games.

(1) Swiatek v Azarenka
(PR) Osaka v Pliskova
Fernandez v (3) Rybakina
Pavlyuchenkova v (Q) Collins

Even with all the upsets and only 2 seeds, the QF's are still stacked.

4 slam champs, the other 4 are all slam runner ups with Pliskova also a former #1.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

Exactly. People talk about the lack of depth these days -- but it's never been deeper when you have former Slam champs and finalists who are unseeded but can show up with their Slam games.

Well it's shown here in Doha with the great lineup but it was not there at the Aus Open with a bunch of outside top 40 players of Kostyuk, Kalinskaya, Noskova and Yastremska making the QF's and none have backed it up.

Both Kalinskaya and Noskova in fact lost to Pliskova this week lol.. While Yastremska got destroyed by Vekic in Linz.

 

[D-Lite]

(1) Swiatek v Azarenka
(PR) Osaka v Pliskova
Fernandez v (3) Rybakina
Pavlyuchenkova v (Q) Collins

Even with all the upsets and only 2 seeds, the QF's are still stacked.

4 slam champs, the other 4 are all slam runner ups with Pliskova also a former #1.

Would like to see Swiatek vs Osaka even if it's a hammering for Osaka. She needs to play these big matches outside of the majors to have a shot when they possibly clash when it most matters.

A long shot, but I'd love to see Fernandez make the final here.

 

[Bill Lobsalot]

Pavs beat Collins in a hard fought match. Good tennis from two of my favorites.

 

[ScentOfDefeat]

Well it's shown here in Doha with the great lineup but it was not there at the Aus Open with a bunch of outside top 40 players of Kostyuk, Kalinskaya, Noskova and Yastremska making the QF's and none have backed it up.

Both Kalinskaya and Noskova in fact lost to Pliskova this week lol.. While Yastremska got destroyed by Vekic in Linz.

It's weird but sometimes it seems smaller tournaments with stacked draws deliver more than Slams. I wonder if it's because they don't have a day of rest between best of 3 matches (which, in fairness, is a bit too much rest in my estimation, it's only justifiable on the men's side), which rewards fitness and mental readiness. I feel like upsets at Slams could be due (among other factors) to the mind just wandering when you have that extra day between matches, which can lead to overthinking and a lack of focus. They could probably wrap up the women's draw in 10 days instead of the two weeks and it would be considerably tougher than a 500 or a 1000 (with the extra matches), which is not the case these days because you can rest more at a Slam than anywhere else.

 

[Mr.Lob]

Rybakina beats Fernandez 6-4, 6-2. Just too good for Fernandez.

 

[coolcamden]

Rybakina beats Fernandez 6-4, 6-2. Just too good for Fernandez.

Won 11 of last 13 games after being down 1-4.

 

[coolcamden]

Last night on TC, Coco Vandewedge whom I disliked since her playing day, said VA will CREAM Iga. We will see…. I am not a huge Iga fan, but I hate Vika with a passion, so let’s go Iga.

 

[Mr.Lob]

.. but I hate Vika with a passion, so let’s go Iga.

Thought Vika should have post-match racquet bumped with Ostepenko yesterday. Seems like a good compromise between shaking hands and not.

 

[Connor35]

Last night on TC, Coco Vandewedge whom I disliked since her playing day, said VA will CREAM Iga. We will see…. I am not a huge Iga fan, but I hate Vika with a passion, so let’s go Iga.

That's a bold prediction given (a) Iga has won the last two events in Doha (b) she's playing amazingly well this week (c) in general its a bold prediction!

 

[Kralingen]

That's a bold prediction given (a) Iga has won the last two events in Doha (b) she's playing amazingly well this week (c) in general its a bold prediction!

Vika is actually playing really well here so far.

 

[Mr.Lob]

Azarenka double faults. Swiatek breaks and will serve for 1st set.

 

[ScottleeSV]

It felt like Azarenka was stronger whilst it was on serve but Swiatek really tuned herself in from 3-4 30-40.

 

[coolcamden]

Bagel imminent

 

[coolcamden]

Iga Swiatek went to the creamery and had a float with bagel.

 

[Mr.Lob]

Swiatek rolls thru the 2nd set giving Vika a bagel and a handshake.

 

[NaomiKonjuhPotapova]

Vika purpose is to stop Ostapenko

 

[Connor35]

Last night on TC, Coco Vandewedge whom I disliked since her playing day, said VA will CREAM Iga. We will see…. I am not a huge Iga fan, but I hate Vika with a passion, so let’s go Iga.

This aged well from CocoV!

64 60

Vika won 8 points in the 2nd set.

 

[ktx]

These courts seem pretty slow then I turn on the Pliskova Osaka match and it’s like ace winner ace ace winner.

 

[robyrolfo]

Please please start calling for Arazenka to win. I can’t stand her, and need all the help I can get.

I think we need to form an Azarenka hateclub. I can't stand her either. Glad she got bounced today.

Awkward and unnecessary.

Why? Why should anyone feel forced to shake hands with people that have been disrespectful?

and to be bagel by Iga. she's so not ready.

I don't know, Osaka could be a tough matchup for Iga, since Swiatek can struggle against hard hitters. Plus, Osaka is still a big name in the sport, and we know that Iga is a mental basket case.

Exactly. People talk about the lack of depth these days -- but it's never been deeper when you have former Slam champs and finalists who are unseeded but can show up with their Slam games.

"...can show up with their slam games," and can show up with no game whatsoever. Yes, these are all big names, but you have no idea what you will get from them. Pliskova seems to suddenly be in form, but in 2023 she was awful. Ditto Pavs, who can look like a top 10 player, but can also look completely out of shape and uninterested. Fernandez is completely meh...

And in terms of depth, some of these players aren't seeded but in good form right now. Meanwhile, you have top seeds like Jabeur, Sakkari, Pegula, Vondrousova... who are currently playing like players ranked 75-100. It's a mess.

Well it's shown here in Doha with the great lineup but it was not there at the Aus Open with a bunch of outside top 40 players of Kostyuk, Kalinskaya, Noskova and Yastremska making the QF's and none have backed it up.
Both Kalinskaya and Noskova in fact lost to Pliskova this week lol.. While Yastremska got destroyed by Vekic in Linz.

Exactly. The rankings can be quite misleading these days (see above), and there are tons of players that can be great when they are feeling it, and then pretty awful when they are not.

The slams only exacerbate the inconsistencies, because a lot of these players are struggling to perform well under pressure.

 

[coolcamden]

I think we need to form an Azarenka hateclub. I can't stand her either. Glad she got bounced today.


Why? Why should anyone feel forced to shake hands with people that have been disrespectful?


I don't know, Osaka could be a tough matchup for Iga, since Swiatek can struggle against hard hitters. Plus, Osaka is still a big name in the sport, and we know that Iga is a mental basket case.


"...can show up with their slam games," and can show up with no game whatsoever. Yes, these are all big names, but you have no idea what you will get from them. Pliskova seems to suddenly be in form, but in 2023 she was awful. Ditto Pavs, who can look like a top 10 player, but can also look completely out of shape and uninterested. Fernandez is completely meh...

And in terms of depth, some of these players aren't seeded but in good form right now. Meanwhile, you have top seeds like Jabeur, Sakkari, Pegula, Vondrousova... who are currently playing like players ranked 75-100. It's a mess.


Exactly. The rankings can be quite misleading these days (see above), and there are tons of players that can be great when they are feeling it, and then pretty awful when they are not.

The slams only exacerbate the inconsistencies, because a lot of these players are struggling to perform well under pressure.

Many good points in your post. As always…