Round 3. Jabeur def Pliskova

Doha Announcer Andy Taylor. Qatar Total Open 2020. Round-3. Ons Jabeur
Announcer Andy Taylor | Voice of the Qatar Total Open | Qatar Tennis Federation

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[vector_icon icon=”fas fa-microphone”] Match Recap from Announcer Andy Taylor, Voice of the Qatar Total Open

Doha Announcer Andy Taylor. Qatar Total Open 2020. Round-3. Ons Jabeur Match Recap

Ons Jabeur advances to the Quarterfinals

For those who’ve been paying attention, Jabeur’s upset tonight comes as no surprise. Last Summer, she pushed Pliskova to a deciding set in Round-3 of the US Open. And since her groundbreaking run at the Australian Open, Jabeur’s relentlessness has swamped each opponent mind with doubt — especially here in the Arabian Gulf. Last week, she earned match-point against the World #2 in a deciding-set tiebreak. Simona Halep was fortunate to escape with a win.

World #3 Karolina Pliskova wasn’t as lucky. Late in the third – the two traded breaks, but Ons immediately broke again. After the final hold, center court erupted as if Tunisia captured the World Cup. After 8-years of early exits, tonight’s victory over a former champion solidified Ons Jabeur’s rock-star status in Qatar. It was Jabeur’s 4th career top-10 victory, and first since 2018.

This week, Ons has been Doha’s number-one draw. She is individually driving ticket sales. And tonight, fans got their money’s worth. Behind her first three Doha victories, Ons Jabuer is now a Premier-5 Quarterfinalist for the first time. Next up: 2018’s Premier-5 champion here in Qatar, Petra Kvitova. This one’s gonna be loud.

Head to Head: Second meeting between these two players

Doha Announcer Andy Taylor. Qatar Total Open 2020. Round-3. Head to Head Jabeur Pliskova
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Day-4. Updated Singles Draw

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Day-4. Updated Doubles Draw

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[WC] Ons Jabeur -44- (TUN) | Round of 16 Announcer Introduction

Behind straight-set wins over Katerina Siniakova and a red-hot Jennifer Brady, Tunisia’s top talent is through to Round-3 of a WTA Premier-5 event for the first time. In 2012, she made her Qatar Total Open debut as a 17-year-old Wild Card ranked outside the top-1200. Today, she’s back in Doha as a top-50 Trailblazer, with a career-high ranking of World #44. 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. A 100% Tunisian Product, please welcome the top-ranked Arab player in WTA history, Ons Jabeur.

  • R3 — W | [03] Karolina Pliskova -03- (CZE) | Score: 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
  • R2 — W | Jennifer Brady -45- (USA) | Score: 6-4, 6-3 | RECAP
  • R1 — W | [Q] Katerina Siniakova -58- (CZE) | Score: 6-3, 6-2 | RECAP
Announcer Corner | Doha: Ons Jabeur

Qatar has not been a hotbed of success for Tunisia’s top talent. Before Sunday night, 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.

This year, Ons is Doha’s main attraction. The Wild Card now owns three victories on this court, and fans can’t get enough. That said, her inspired confidence will need to carry her past 2018 Champion Petra Kvitova to reach the Semifinals.


[03] Karolina Pliskova -03- (CZE) | Round of 16 Announcer Introduction

Three years ago here in Doha, during a rain-soaked Qatar Total Open, she won 4 matches in 3-days to capture her first Doha title. She defeated Zhang Shuai in the Quarterfinals, then on the same day – just a few hours later – took-out World #5 Dominika Cibulkova, before overcoming Caroline Wozniacki in the championship match. She’s a Grand Slam Finalist, a 3-time Fed Cup Champion, spent 8-weeks as the World #1 – and last month, captured her 16th WTA Singles title in Brisbane (in her 28th career Singles Final). Making her 7th Doha appearance – yesterday, she defeated qualifier Bernarda Pera in under an hour – losing only 7-points in a 6-0 2nd-set – to reach tonight’s 3rd-Round match. From the Czech Republic – please welcome 2017 Champion, and the #3 Player in the World, Karolina Pliskova.

  • R3 — L | [WC] Ons Jabeur -44- (TUN) | Score: 4-6, 6-3, 3-6
  • R2 — W | [Q] Bernarda Pera -63- (USA) | Score: 6-3, 6-0 | RECAP
  • R1 — BYE
Announcer Corner | Doha: Karolina Pliskova

Karolina Pliskova is a 2-time Premier-5 champion. She captured her first in 2016, defeating World #2 Angelique Kerber to lift the trophy in Cincinnati. Three weeks later, she reached her first Grand Slam Final at the US Open – where she fell to Kerber in a deciding set. Last May, she earned her second Premier-5 title on clay in Rome. Though she has never won a Premier Mandatory event, she did reach the Final in Miami last March.

In 2017, she won the “Premier” version of the Qatar Total Open. It was a crazy, rain-soaked week. After the first two days of play, only two Round-1 matches were completed. The 2-seed that year, Pliskova enjoyed a 1st-Round Bye. She finally opened her campaign on Thursday with a win over Caroline Garcia. Then on Friday, Karolina defeated both Shaui Zhang and Dominika Cibulkova before capturing the title on Saturday (defeated Caroline Wozniacki). In other words, she won her 7th of 16 career titles by winning four matches in three days. Not to mention, those were her first career victories over Cibulkova and Wozniacki.