Tennis-Swiatek beats Rybakina, sets up Ostapenko Qatar semi
Adds later results
DOHA, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Three-times defending champion Iga Swiatek will face Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko in the Qatar Open semi-finals on Friday after the Pole overcame Elena Rybakina 6-2 7-5.
Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova, who defeated American sixth seed Jessica Pegula, will face another American Amanda Anisimova in the other semi-final.
In a repeat of last year's final, second seed Swiatek swept through the opening set, breaking Kazakhstan fifth seed Ryabkina's first service game to lead 2-0 and again to wrap up the set.
Rybakina, who discovered on Wednesday that the WTA had decided to uphold a ban against her former coach Stefano Vukov following an investigation into a potential breach of its code of conduct, recovered to break in the opening game of the second set.
Swiatek, playing with real intensity, hit back to level at 4-4 and with Rybakina serving to force a tiebreaker, the Pole made the decisive break.
"I'm super happy and super proud of myself because playing against Elena is never easy," Swiatek said.
"At the beginning of the second set, I felt like she increased her levels. I needed to do that too in order to come back."
Rybakina came into the match with a 4-3 lead in their head-to-head record, but Swiatek will face Ostapenko after the Latvian beat Tunisia's Ons Jabeur 6-2 6-2 later on Thursday.
Pegula, U.S. Open finalist last year, won the opening set, but in-form Alexandrova, who had beaten top seed and world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the second round, stormed back to win 4-6 6-1 6-1.
"I'm really happy with the way I'm playing right now," Alexandrova said.
Alexandrova, now on an eight-match winning streak, will meet Anisimova in the semi-final, with the 23-year-old American coming from a set down to advance 4-6 7-5 6-4 past Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk.
Anisimova, ranked 41st, became the first female player to reach the singles semi-finals of the Qatar Open having defeated four players in the top 30 of the rankings.
Related Articles
Netflix After the Warner Deal: What Investors Should Know
TradingKey - For quite some time now, Netflix (NFLX) has been regarded as the premier subscription-based streaming service in the world, with a well-established history of growth through creative use of pricing power, developing hit programming, and relying very little on outside sources for licensi
Warsh’s Fed Era Signals a Death Knell for QE, Jolting the $30 Trillion Treasury Market
With Warsh’s nomination, his past proposals for governing the Federal Reserve are being brought to the forefront. A central issue is the formulation of a new "1951 Accord" to restructure the relationship between the Fed and the Treasury. Analysts suggest such a move could impact the $30 trillion Tre
Amazon Stock Predictions for 2026 to 2030: Will They Exceed Expectations and Achieve Major Long-Term Goals?
TradingKey - As we head into 2026, many investors are questioning where Amazon (AMZN) fits into the technology world.
A Crash After a Surge: Why Silver Lost 40% in a Week?
TradingKey - Spot silver (XAGUSD) prices continue to decline. Silver plunged 20% on Thursday, breaking below $71 per ounce, with the sell-off intensifying on Friday as prices fell further below $64. Compared to the all-time high set on January 29, silver prices have retraced more than 40%, wiping out nearly all gains accumulated over the previous month.
