Iga Swiatek faced two potentially formidable foes in her Doha quarterfinal on Thursday. (1) A Top 5 opponent, in Elena Rybakina, who had a 4-3 record against her; and (2) Her own ability to recover, mentally and physically, from a draining three-set win over Linda Noskova less than 24 hours earlier.
It didn’t take the three-time defending champion long—maybe six points, tops—to show that her recovery wasn’t going to be a problem. In the second game, Swiatek stepped inside the baseline and sent a backhand down the line for a winner that put her up 0-30 on Rybakina’s serve. The shot was perfectly timed and measured, and cleanly struck. You could see, from the stroke itself and Swiatek’s early display of determination and positivity, that she was up for the challenge of winning tough matches on consecutive days
