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[vector_icon icon=”fas fa-microphone”] Match Recap from Announcer Andy Taylor, Voice of the Qatar Total Open
Kiki Bertens advances to the Round of 16
What the Hell was that? In a day that saw the 2019 Qatar Total Open’s 22nd player withdrawal, by Tuesday evening – thankfully – the draw started to stabilize. Then, in a blink, World #8 Kiki Bertens fell behind a set to Camila Giorgi. The curse returned.
And make no mistake, Camila completely owned Kiki in under 20-minutes. Bertens’ serve was way off. Giorgi painted the lines. Still, instinctively, the dominance felt unsustainable. Camila needed to finish-off Kiki in the second set to earn the win – which didn’t happen.
Kiki finally put points on the board in the 8th game, then went up a break before the changeover. Fighting from behind the entire set, Giorgi saved two set points to force a 2nd-set tiebreak, and jumped ahead 5-1.
Somehow, someway – Bertens fought back, just two points away from elimination. Ultimately, she took the tiebreak 9-7, then rolled over Giorgi late in the decider.
Close call. Too close. Kiki will have to regain some level of focus to make a deep run this week.
Head to Head: Third meeting between these two players
- 2019 Doha R1 | [5] Kiki Bertens -08- (NED) def Camila Giorgi -28- (ITA) | 06 76(7) 64
- 2016 Roland Garros R2 | Kiki Bertens -58- (NED) def Camila Giorgi -44- (ITA) | 64 61
- 2015 ‘s-Hertogenbosch SF | [5] Camila Giorgi -35- (ITA) def Kiki Bertens -132- (NED) | 62 64
Day-2. Updated Singles Draw
[/alert]Day-2. Updated Doubles Draw
[/alert][5] Kiki Bertens -08- (NED) | Round-1 Announcer Introduction
The #5-seed in this year’s draw, she comes into Doha on the heels of winning her 8th WTA Singles title. 10 days ago, she lifted the trophy in St. Petersburg; and in just the past 10-months, has won 4 Singles titles in 5 Finals, and returns to Doha with a career-high ranking of World #8. She earned 12 top-10 victories last year alone, including a remarkable Premier-5 run in Cincinnati where she bested 4 top-10 players, like World #2 Caroline Wozniacki and World #1 Simona Halep in the championship match. By season’s end, she qualified for the WTA Finals for the first time, and reached the Semifinals in her debut. Competing in her 2nd Qatar Total Open – From the Netherlands, please welcome the #8 Player in the World, Kiki Bertens.
- R1 — W | Camila Giorgi -28- (ITA) | Score: 0-6, 7-6(7), 6-4
Camila Giorgi -28- (ITA) | Round-1 Announcer Introduction
Making her second Qatar Total Open appearance, she’s competing in Doha’s main draw for the first time. Her season last year – was tremendous. At the start of 2018, she fell to the World #100, but immediately turned it around with a pair of Semifinal runs in Sydney and Prague. At Wimbledon, she reached her first Major Quarterfinal – then scored the biggest win of her career in Tokyo, upsetting top-seed and World #2 Caroline Wozniacki en-route to the Semifinals. She ended the season the best way possible – by lifting a trophy. In Linz, she captured her second career WTA Singles title and climbed to a career-high ranking of World #26. She went from World #100 to World #26 in just 9-months. Remarkable. From Italy, please welcome Camila Giorgi.
- R1 — L | [5] Kiki Bertens -08- (NED) | Score: 6-0, 6-7(7), 4-6
