Ostapenko keeps it perfect against Swiatek to reach final

Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko is ecstatic after beating Poland’s Iga Swiatek in Doha on Friday. Pic/AFP

Going into the semi-final against Iga Swiatek, Jelena Ostapenko was confident of winning the match and progressing into the final of the Qatar Open here on Friday. Ostapenko maintained her record against Swiatek, scoring her fifth successive win with a straight-sets victory.

"I was pretty confident that I would beat her because we've played a lot of matches and I know how to play against her," former French Open winner Ostapenko said in her on-court interview after the match. "I was more focused on myself and what I had to do. I'm happy with the way I'm handling my emotions this week."

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The Latvian Ostapenko defeated the No. 2 seed with an imperious 6-3, 6-1 victory in the semifinals, ending three-time defending champion Swiatek's 15-match winning streak at the tournament.

With this win, Ostapenko advanced to her 17th career WTA Tour final, second in Doha and fourth at WTA 1000 level or above (following Doha 2016, Roland Garros 2017, and Miami 2018). Her six-year, 321-day gap since the last of those is the longest between WTA 1000 finals since the format's inception in 2009.

The 27-year-old, who has not dropped a set yet this week, will face another unseeded player, Amanda Anisimova, for her biggest title since Roland Garros 2017. Their only previous meeting also took place in Doha.

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