Iga Swiatek swept past Jessica Pegula 6-3 6-0 in the Qatar TotalEnergies Open final to defend her Doha title and the points she earned at the start of her last year’s historic 37-match winning streak. Has there ever been a more dominant title run at a tournament than this one?
Swiatek was ruthless all week in Doha. After a first-round bye, the world No.1 wasted just 53 minutes to dispatch Danielle Collins 6-0 6-1, then Belinda Bencic handed her a walkover, and Veronika Kudermetova detained her on the court for just 56 minutes in the semifinal that finished with a 6-0 6-1 scoreline.
In the title match, the second-seeded Pegula did provide more resistance, twice recovering from a break down in the first set, thus being the first player to break Swiatek’s serve at the 2023 Qatar TotalEnergies Open, but the Pole comfortably neutralized her resistance and stepped up in the second set to avenge January’s loss to the American at the United Cup. The final lasted one hour and nine minutes, Swiatek’s longest match this week.
Swiatek’s winning equipment: A black Asics quarter-zip top, Asics Women’s Spring Match Short, Asics Gel Resolution 9 tennis shoes, and Tecnifibre Tempo 298 Iga tennis racquet.
