Image Credits - Sky Sports
Current world No. 1 Iga Swiatek locks horns with former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Dubai Tennis Championships on Thursday.
The top seed is eyeing her second consecutive title. She came into the tournament after bagging the title in the Qatar Open, having lost just 5 games in 3 matches.
Swiatek began her campaign in the Dubai Tennis Championships with a comprehensive win against Leylah Fernandez. The 21-year-old won the match 6-1, 6-1 as the Polish sensation converted 6 out of 7 break points. In the second round, Swiatek produced another scintillating performance to outplay 14th seed Liudmila Samsonova in straight sets 6-1, 6-0.
Pliskova also played in the Qatar Open. She made it to the main draw after winning three rounds of qualifying. However, in the round of 32, she lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Pliskova bounced back in Dubai with a comprehensive 6-3, 6-4 win against Marketa Vondrousova in the first round. The Czech veteran followed it up with a sensational 6-1, 6-2 win against 6th seed Maria Sakkari. Pliskova smashed 8 aces in the encounter. She had to fight hard in the round of 16 when she faced Anhelina Kalinina. The three-set thriller ended 7-5, 6-7 (6-8), 6-2 in favor of Pliskova. She managed to convert 4 out of 4 break points and also smashed 13 aces.
The Polish youngster defeated Pliskova in their only previous meeting in the most convincing fashion. Swiatek won the finals of the 2021 Italian Open 6-0, 6-0.
Prediction: Iga Swiatek to win in straight sets.
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