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[vector_icon icon=”fas fa-microphone”] Match Recap from Announcer Andy Taylor, Voice of the Qatar Total Open
Ons Jabeur advances to Round-2
Welcome to Ons Jabeur’s defining season. Last month at the Australian Open, she became the first Arab woman in tennis history to reach a Grand Slam Quarterfinal. Last week in Dubai, she took World #2 Simona Halep to a deciding-set tiebreak. Tonight, she finally won her first Singles match in Doha.
Jabeur has been a perennial Qatar Total Open Wild Card since her 2012 debut. It hasn’t gone well.
Before tonight, she’d never won a Singles match in either qualifying or main draw play. Last year, Ons won only 4-games in her Round-1 clash with Carla Suarez Navarro. That said, she did reach the Doubles Semifinals with partner Alison Riske. The pair teamed at the last minute when seven of 2019’s top talents withdrew due to scheduling conflicts following Fed Cup.
Ons Jabeur’s first victory over Katarina Siniakova
Considering her history in Doha, and her record against Siniakova, Ons must’ve had some butterflies before the match. Their previous clash two years ago at Wimbledon went the distance – and beyond (Siniakova won it 9-7 in the third). Additionally, Katarina had already built some rhythm on court. As the top qualifying seed, she won two straight-set matches over the weekend to reach the main draw.
All in all, tonight was another affirming victory for the Tunisian Wild Card – unapologetically confident behind tremendous results this year and a career-high ranking of World #45.
Head to Head: Fourth WTA meeting between these two players
Day-1. Updated Singles Draw
[/alert]Day-1. Updated Doubles Draw
[/alert][WC] Ons Jabeur -45- (TUN) | Round-1 Announcer Introduction
8-years-ago, she made her first Doha appearance as a 17-year-old Wild Card ranked outside the top 12-hundred. Today, she returns as a top-50 trailblazer, with a career high ranking of World #45. January’s Breakthrough Player on Tour – last month at the Australian Open, she became the first Arab woman in tennis history to reach a Grand Slam Quarterfinal. And last week in Dubai, took World #2 Simona Halep to a thrilling deciding-set tiebreak. She’s a 2-time Olympian, a Premier Finalist at the 2018 Kremlin Cup – and in all, owns 11 ITF Singles titles. From Tunisia, please welcome 2019 Arab Woman of the Year honoree and the top-ranked Arab player in WTA history, Ons Jabeur.
- R1 — W | [Q] Katerina Siniakova -58- (CZE) | Score: 6-3, 6-2
Announcer Corner | Doha: Ons Jabeur
Qatar has not been a hotbed of success for Tunisia’s top talent. In fact, before tonight – since 2012, Ons had never won a Qualifying or Main Draw Singles match in Doha. Last year, she fell in the Opening Round to 2016 Champion Carla Suarez Navarro. However in Doubles – thanks to several last minute, Fed Cup travel-related withdrawals – she and Alison Riske partnered to reach the 2019 Semifinals.
[Q] Katerina Siniakova -58- (CZE) | Round-1 Announcer Introduction
In 2016, she made her Qatar Total Open debut as a 19-year-old Qualifier ranked outside the top-100. 4-years later – she is one of the sport’s top-shelf Doubles talents. She’s now a 2-time Grand Slam Doubles Champion, a Fed Cup Champion, a year-end Doubles World #1, and spent 29-weeks as the sport’s top-ranked Doubles player. Though decorated in Doubles, she’s also a threat one-on-one. A 5-time Singles Finalist, she owns 2 WTA Singles titles – and last June, upset World #1 Naomi Osaka to reach Round-4 at Roland Garros. Back in Doha, competing in her 4th Qatar Total Open – From the Czech Republic, please welcome Katerina Siniakova.
- R1 — L | [WC] Ons Jabeur -45- (TUN) | Score: 3-6, 2-6
- Q2 — W | [12] Timea Babos -100- (HUN) | Score: 6-3, 6-4 | RECAP
- Q1 — W | Xinyun Han -190- (CHN) | Score: 6-2, 6-2 | RECAP
Announcer Corner | Doha: Katarina Siniakova
In January, Katerina won her 8th WTA Doubles title in Shezhen. It was her 19th career Doubles Final since 2014, when she reached back-to-back championship matches in Stanford and Tashkent (first title) as an 18-year-old. At this year’s Australian Open, she became as Grand Slam Semifinalist for the 8th time. Though she’s 0-4 in main-draw Singles play this season, Katerina and partner Barbora Krejcikova clearly have something special. Together again this week in Doha, where they reached the Semifinals in 2018, the two return as the #4-seeds.
