Upsets galore as Siniakova shocks Gauff; Noskova beats Sakkari
Doha: Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic pulled off a second-round upset at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open on Tuesday, ousting No.2 seed and reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4 at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex on Tuesday.
Ranked No. 42, Siniakova clawed back from 4-0 down in the second set before grabbing a 1-hour and 20-minute victory over Gauff. The Czech collected just her second win in seven meetings with the 19-year-old American.
Siniakova, a former WTA Doubles World No.1 who has won seven Grand Slam doubles titles, moves into the Doha Round of 16 in singles for the very first time in her career.
Siniakova will face another accomplished American, Danielle Collins, in the Round of 16. Former World No.7 Collins, the 2022 Australian Open finalist, qualified for the main draw this week and has already beaten No.13 seed Veronika Kudermetova and Marie Bouzkova.
Siniakova and Collins have split their two previous meetings. Siniakova beat Collins from a set down at 2019 Toronto, but Collins recently avenged that loss in last year’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
“Definitely another tough match, [Collins is] a really aggressive player,” Siniakova said, looking ahead to her next round. “I will try to focus on my game and fight every point, and hopefully it will be a really good game.”
Earlier, Linda Noskova has become the first player to win from match point down twice on the Hologic WTA Tour in 2024, saving one en route to upsetting No.7 seed Maria Sakkari 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-5 in the second round.
The Czech 19-year-old also saved one match point in the first round of Brisbane, defeating Timea Babos 5-7, 7-6(8), 7-6(2). That was the second consecutive year Noskova had won her season opener from match point down; in 2023, she had saved one in her first Adelaide 1 qualifying round to beat Anna Kalinskaya 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(7).
Noskova delivered a brilliant Australian swing this year, going on to reach the Brisbane semifinals and then backing up an upset of World No.1 Iga Swiatek in the third round of the Australian Open to make her Grand Slam quarter-final debut.
Meanwhile, third-seeded Kazakh Elena Rybakina zoomed past Zhu Lin 6-2, 6-1 to take her appointed place in the third round where she will meet Emma Navarro of the US.
Navarro scored a creditable win over 2016 Doha champion Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-1, 6-3.
No.5 seed Zheng Qinwen battled through three contrasting sets to win her first match as a Top 10 player, defeating Magda Linette 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 in 1 hour and 57 minutes to reach the third round of the Qatar TotalEnergies Open.
The 21-year-old was in action for the first time since her maiden Grand Slam final at the Australian Open last month, and was facing an opponent who had beaten her in their only previous meeting. Linette had been a 7-6(4), 6-4 victor in the first round of Miami 2022.
Zheng made an imperious start to the match, but her form evaporated in an error-riddled second set. However, the World No.7 was able to rediscover enough accuracy to regain control in the decider, and extended her perfect record in three-setters this year to 5-0.
In the third round, Zheng will face another 2002-born Grand Slam finalist in Leylah Fernandez, who defeated wild card Paula Badosa 0-6, 6-2, 6-3 in 1 hour and 56 minutes.
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