By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, February 26, 2022
Iga Swiatek stormed through 10 consecutive games dismissing Anett Kontaveit 6-2, 6-0 in a dominant Doha final performance.
Photo credit: Getty
A ecstatic Iga Swiatek flipped her white Tecnifibre racquet high in the sky to celebrate championship elevation.
In a commanding championship performance, Swiatek stormed through 10 straight games crushing Anett Kontaveit 6-2, 6-0 to capture her fourth career title in Doha.
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Soaking in a near-flawless performance, Swiatek later picked up the racquet and tossed it to a supportive fan in the front row.
The seventh-seeded Swiatek gave Kontaveit a thrashing snapping the Estonian's nine-match winning streak and gave Polish fans a final to remember. Swiatek broke Kontaveit's serve five times in a row blowing open a 2-2 tie to overwhelm the St. Petersburg champion.
It's Swiatek's second WTA 1000 championship and marks the second time she's completely dismantled a power player in a 1000 final following her 6-0, 6-0 shutout of Karolina Pliskova in the 2021 Rome final.
Eight of the world's Top 10 women contested the Qatar TotalEnergies Open and by the time the dust settled in Doha, Swiatek swept top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka, sixth-seeded Maria Sakkari and fourth-seeded Kontaveit in succession. Swiatek has won her last four finals in straight sets collecting her second career hard-court crown.
It's Swiatek's third straight win over Kontaveit as she improves to 14-3 on the season and leaps ahead of the Estonian to No. 4 in the live rankings.
Deadlocked at 2-2, Swiatek shifted to a higher gear and broke in the fifth game.
Swiatek slashed an ace off the sideline backing up the break for a 4-2 lead after 26 minutes.
The 2020 Roland Garros champion’s athleticism is an asset and she showed it on the stretch flicking a forehand return back in play and breaking for 5-2 when Kontaveit netted her normally trusty two-hander.
Swiatek converted three of five break points and denied five of the six break points she faced rolling through the 39-minute opening set.
A speedy Swiatek broke to start the second set and confirmed the break at 15 with a slider serve for a 2-0 second-set lead.
The unerring precision and smooth movement of her opponent left a rattled Kontaveit forcing the issue. She sprayed a wild backhand wide to face triple break point. Kontaveit saved two but floated a backhand beyond the baseline.
A streaking Swiatek seized her sixth straight game extending her lead to a set and 3-0.
Timing the ball effortlessly, Swiatek belted a backhand winner down the line scoring her fifth straight break for a 5-0 lead. Swiatek won nine of 11 points played on Kontaveit's second serve closing in 64 minutes.
A dominant Swiatek has won and eye-popping 24 of the 26 games she's played in WTA 1000 finals.