Defending champion Swiatek to face Kudermetova, Pegula up against Sakkari in semis

Doha- No.8 seed Veronika Kudermetova stunned No. 4 seed Coco Gauff 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 in 2 hours and 4 minutes to secure a semifinal clash against world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who received a walkover into the semis after No. 7 seed Belinda Bencic, her opponent in the quarterfinals, withdrew from the tournament due to fatigue.

The 25-year-old Kudermetova, who started playing tennis at the age of eight, has yet to win a set from Swiatek, the defending champion, in two previous encounters. Their semifinal clash is sure to make for an interesting watch as Swiatek is two matches away from joining the ranks of the few two-time winners in Doha, with Kudermetova momentarily standing between that dream and its reality.

Meanwhile, world No. 4 and second seed Jessica Pegula had a comfortable 6-3, 6-2 victory over Beatriz Haddad Maia to secure a last-four encounter against Maria Sakkari, the No. 5 seed, who knocked out third seed Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-7, 7-6 at the end of an exhaustive 2 hours, 41 minutes of battle that ended just after midnight.

Pegula needed just 85 minutes to beat Haddad Maia in their first meeting, and the world No. 4 is through to her second career semifinal at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open, having first done so as a qualifier in 2021.

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