Doha: Dominika Cibulkova's Shot Of The Day
Dominika Cibulkova has Wednesday’s shot of the day at the Qatar Open.
Dominika Cibulkova has Wednesday’s shot of the day at the Qatar Open.
Samantha Stosur was the latest player to send a seed out of the Qatar Total Open, beating eighth seed Barbora Strycova 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
Zhang Shuai pulled off two tough wins in one day to reach the quarterfinals of the Qatar Total Open.
Qualifier Lauren Davis’s run at the Qatar Total Open continued as she beat sixth seed Elena Vesnina in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals.
Caroline Wozniacki takes on Kiki Bertens in the first round of the Qatar Total Open.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL, USA – The WTA announced today that Dubai Duty Free, the world’s leading airport retailer, has extended its longstanding global sponsorship of women’s tennis.
Under the agreement, Dubai Duty Free continues as one of the WTA’s premier sponsors, with the partnership’s core elements designed to align Dubai Duty Free’s standing as the single largest airport duty free retailer in the world with the WTA’s premium assets.
The Dubai Duty Free Player Ambassador Program will be supported by WTA players Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark and Zhang Shuai of China. Wozniacki continues her role as a valued
ambassador for the sixth year and Zhang Shuai is newly introduced into the program, representing Dubai Duty Free’s focus on China and leveraging WTA’s extensive exposure and reach in the region.
Additionally, the agreement continues Dubai Duty Free’s sponsorship of the WTA Year-End World No.1 singles and doubles awards, most recently presented to Angelique Kerber and Sania Mirza at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
A WTA sponsor since 2004, Dubai Duty Free’s partnership with the WTA has over the years been marked by leadership and innovation. Dubai Duty Free has been a longstanding supporter of the WTA, having been the first event in the Middle East to award equal prize money and a strong supporter of the growth of women’s tennis throughout the region. Dubai Duty Free is the owner, organizer and title sponsor of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, an equal prize money Premier tournament on the WTA calendar and a cornerstone event for women’s and men’s tennis in the Middle East. The ATP week is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and will once again attract the top players in the world.
Past winners of the tournament include several former WTA World No.1s including four-time champion Justine Henin, three-time champion Venus Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport and Amélie Mauresmo.
“The WTA is extremely pleased to continue our partnership with Dubai Duty Free,” stated WTA CEO and Chairman Steve Simon. “Dubai Duty Free has provided its unwavering support for women’s tennis and we look forward to this next chapter together in growing the sport even more.”
Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman & CEO, Dubai Duty Free, remarked, “We are delighted to continue our long standing association with the WTA and have introduced some new marketing initiatives that will create further global awareness of our brand. In the meantime, we are looking forward to a great fortnight of tennis, commencing on the 19th February with the WTA Premier 5 week and welcome all of our players to Dubai.”
Dominika Cibulkova takes on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round of the Qatar Total Open.
The WTA World No.18 was 0-2 down twice against Kiki Bertens but fought back to win 6-2, 6-3.
An interview with Dominika Cibulkova after her second round victory at the Qatar Total Open.
DOHA, Qatar – Zhang Shuai recorded one of the biggest wins of her career, overcoming No.5 seed Garbiñe Muguruza, 7-6, 3-6, 7-5 to reach the last eight – her fourth on the Premier level – at the Qatar Total Open.
Muguruza, who was playing her second match of the day – overcoming Turkey’s Cagla Buyukakcay 6-3, 6-2 after their rain delayed match – quickly found herself in trouble against the Chinese No.1 – herself having to beat Timea Babos earlier in the afternoon – in the first meeting between the pair.
“I woke up thinking that I was going to have a very tough day,” Muguruza said after. “This morning I warm up at 9:00 in the morning. I played pretty good the first match. The second one, Zhang played very well. The conditions were difficult. There was a lot of wind. She was finding her shots. At the end I think was two points difference and they went to her.”
Thunderous hitting from the baseline saw Zhang secure back-to-back breaks of the former French Open champion’s serve for a surprise early 4-1 lead. Muguruza’s fighting spirit helped her break back to love and restore parity as a tight opening set went to a tie-break.
It was the impressive Zhang from there, nailing an impressive 83% of first serves to take the opener as Muguruza double faulted on set point.
.@zhangshuai121 claims an epic rally! @QatarTennis pic.twitter.com/oOgyNEfoAA
— WTA (@WTA) February 15, 2017
The second set followed a similarly tight pattern but this time it was Muguruza with the crucial break at 4-2 as Zhang hit a forehand long, the single break proving sufficient for the Spaniard to serve out and take the match to a deciding set.
The former Australian Open quarterfinalist staved off three break points before breaking herself with a forehand onto the line.
With Muguruza struggling on her second serve, Zhang broke yet again and consolidated for a 5-2 lead but the Spaniard is not a grand slam champion for nothing and roared back to level at 5-5.
What an upset!@zhangshuai121 ousts Muguruza 7-6 (3), 3-6, 7-5! #Qatar_Total_Open pic.twitter.com/00mkn0hr03
— WTA (@WTA) February 15, 2017
Zhang, making only her third appearance at Doha, was not to be denied and a further break at 6-5 sealed the win and her best showing to date. The win marked her fifth career Top 10 win and first of the season after previously earning wins over Dinara Safina, Petra Kvitova, and two over Simona Halep in 2016.
Up next for the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai semifinalist is either No.2 seed Karolina Pliskova or Caroline Garcia. Meanwhile Muguruza said she is looking forward to moving on to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
“I think I’m going to go as soon as possible,” she said. “I want to go in Dubai, try to have a few days of training, recovery take it very seriously. I think Dubai is a big tournament this year for us. I want to do well there.”