World No. 1 and top seed Iga Swiatek has the chance to join a select group of four players - with two title wins each in Doha - when she kicks off her Qatar TotalEnergies Open campaign this week.
Russian players Anastasia Myskina (2003 and 2004) and Maria Sharapova (2005 and 2008), Victoria Azarenka (2012 and 2013) of Belarus and Petra Kvitova (2018 and 2021) of the Czech Republic are the only past champions who have lifted the revered Falcon Trophy more than once.
Swiatek, the defending champion, has arrived in Doha following a stellar 2022 season when she won two Grand Slams and posted a staggering 67 wins last year.
The 21-year-old Polish star started her memorable 2022 season with a title victory at last year’s final in Doha where she beat Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit in straight sets.
Winner of the French Open in June and the US Open title in September last year, Swiatek is clearly the player to beat at this week’s 32-player field competing at the Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex.
Swiatek, who reached the Australian Open fourth round last month, put together a 37-match winning streak from February to July last year.
She has a bye in the first round in Doha where she is likely to meet Danielle Collins – the American who beat Swiatek in the 2022 Australian Open semi-final.
If Swiatek holds her own, she could potentially face No.7 seed Belinda Bencic or Azarenka in the quarter-finals at the $780,000 tournament.
Fourth seed and highly promising Coco Gauff of the US and eight seed Veronika Kudermetova are also in Swiatek’s half of the draw.
Gauff, the French Open finalist in 2022, is set to face the winner from the clash involving China’s Zhang Shuai and two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova of the Czech Republic.
“I have had good preparation after the Australia Open as I was back home for two weeks before coming here,” Kvitova, the 2018 and 2021 champion in Doha, told reporters yesterday.
“It’s always great to be back in Doha and I am looking forward to another good event,” Kvitova added.
When asked about this week’s draw, she said: “Such great players playing in this tournament. It’s a tough field and I am taking it step-by-step. I know the conditions here. It’s windy some times, especially in the night. It’s a beautiful tournament though.”
At the bottom of Swiatek’s half of the draw, No.8 seed Russia’s Kudermetova will open against Barbora Krejcikova – the French Open winner in 2021 – in the first round.
The winner of that match will take on the winner from the clash involving Liudmila Samsonova and Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion. Kenin has received a wildcard for the Doha battle this week.
In the bottom half of the draw, second seed Jessica Pegula of the US will be looking to continue with her impressive form this year that took her to the Australian Open quarter-finals last month.
Pegula in her first match in Doha will meet the winner from the clash involving Madison Keys of the US and 2017 French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko.