DOHA, Qatar — Iga Swiatek, the reigning champion, powered her way into the quarterfinals of the Doha Open with a thrilling 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-4 victory against Czech talent Linda Noskova on Wednesday.
Next up for the second-seeded Swiatek is a showdown with Elena Rybakina, who triumphed over Rebecca Sramkova with a scoreline of 7-6 (1), 6-2.
American star Jessica Pegula also secured her spot in the quarterfinals, defeating Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 7-5 in a well-fought match.
Pegula will face Ekaterina Alexandrova next, who put away Elise Mertens with a decisive 6-4, 6-2 performance. Ranked 26th, Alexandrova previously stunned top seed Aryna Sabalenka in a grueling three-set battle on Tuesday.
In a surprising turn of events, Italy’s No. 4 seed Jasmine Paolini was ousted by Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2. Ostapenko will now clash with either Ons Jabeur or Sofia Kenin in the next round.
On Tuesday, Coco Gauff faced an upset defeat at the hands of Marta Kostyuk, with a score of 6-2, 7-5. Kostyuk’s next challenge will be Poland’s Magda Linette.