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Swiatek breezes past Kudermetova and into final at blustery Doha / Photo: © AFP
Swiatek breezes past Kudermetova and into final at blustery Doha
World number one and defending champion Iga Swiatek breezed past Veronika Kudermetova for the loss of just one game in a 56-minute Doha Open semi-final demolition on Friday.
The French and US Open champion triumphed 6-0, 6-1 and will face world number four Jessica Pegula of the United States for the title.
Second seed Pegula reached the final by seeing off Greek fifth seed Maria Sakkari 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 in just under two hours
Poland's Swiatek, the top seed, coped with blustery conditions the better of the two in the Qatari capital, hitting 14 winners to five unforced errors and breaking serve five times.
"I was pretty worried about how I was going to compete with the conditions today, so I'm glad that I could play the smart way," Swiatek told wtatennis.com.
"I'm pretty happy that I was so solid."
Swiatek has lost just two games in two completed matches in Doha this week. She beat Danielle Collins for the loss of one game and then was given a walkover into the semi-final by Belinda Bencic.
Pegula will be playing in her first final of 2023 on Saturday, but sixth of her career.
She had been heading for a straight sets win on Friday when leading 6-2, 4-2 but Sakkari dug deep to level the contest.
"That was probably the hardest conditions I've ever had to play in, wind-wise. I'm glad I didn't get too frustrated. I think I played very smart," said the American.
I. Johansson--BTZ
