Katerina Siniakova, the versatile Czech more noted for her doubles prowess than her exploits on the singles court, delivered the biggest upset so far at the Qatar Open with a straight-sets victory over Coco Gauff. Siniakova reeled off six straight games to complete a shock 6-2, 6-4 victory over the US Open champion and end a run of six consecutive tournaments at which Gauff has reached the semi-finals or better.
It was an outstanding performance from the 27-year-old, who drew on the full breadth of her substantial skillset, dictating the baseline exchanges with her bold ball-striking and rhythm-disrupting variety, defending brilliantly and weathering the storm that came her way as Gauff forced her way back into contention in the second set.
“Definitely I was coming to the court [thinking] that I can win, that I will let her play as much as I can, let her see that I’m fighting, and I think I really did this well,” said Siniakova. “In the end I kind of took that she doesn’t feel so well on the court, and I think that was the key, that I just let her play as much as I could.”
Granting Gauff licence to play is hardly the most obvious strategy, yet the strength of Siniakova’s conviction was evident from the moment she pounced on a high backhand to snatch a break in the opening game. The former doubles No 1 denied Gauff an immediate opportunity to break back with the first of several exquisite backhand drop shots and, having consolidated her advantage, she quickly forged further ahead, her willingness to chase every lost cause driving the American world No 3 to distraction.
Siniakova was aided and abetted by an erratic display from Gauff in her first match since losing to Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals of last month’s Australian Open. The 19-year-old made 45 unforced errors in total, 30 of which came off the forehand, and her woes were compounded by a poor performance on serve, where she won a meagre 30% of the points behind her second delivery.
As one might expect from a collision of two of the world’s finest doubles players, there were some delightful touches at the net, not least in the sixth game, where Gauff raced on to a Siniakova drop shot to win a rat-a-tat exchange with a thumping overhead. That paved the way for a love break, but it was a rare early success for the American. Siniakova immediately restored her two-break cushion with a lovely piece of touch play and a rifled backhand winner, before serving out the set to love.
Gauff began the second set in a more aggressive key, finding her range off the ground as she moved inside the baseline and began ripping the ball with greater venom and conviction. As the American opened up a 4-0 lead, Siniakova won just five points, her mistakes mounting under the pressure exerted by her younger rival. But the Czech rallied brilliantly down the stretch, holding her nerve, scrambling for every shot, and forever making one more ball as Gauff was drawn into more unsightly errors.
Sinakova will face the American qualifier Danielle Collins, a 6-4, 7-5 winner over Marie Bouzkova, for a place in the quarter-finals.
“She’s a really aggressive player, she is going for the points, and I think it’s going to be kind of the same,” said Siniakova, a seven-time grand slam doubles champion. “I need to try to be more aggressive than her and maybe let her play as much as I can. I will try to focus on my game and fight for every point.”
On a day of shocks in Doha, Ons Jabeur and Maria Sakkari, respectively seeded fourth and seventh, also exited the tournament.
Still suffering from “small problems” in the right knee on which she underwent minor surgery this time last year, Jabeur fell to a third defeat in four matches this season, losing 6-3, 6-2 against Lesia Tsurenko. It was the 37th-ranked Ukrainian’s first top-10 win for five years.
Sakkari, meanwhile, came out on the wrong side of a tight three-setter against Linda Noskova, the Czech teenager who defeated Iga Swiatek en route to the quarter-finals of last month’s Australian Open. The Greek held a match point against Noskova’s serve at 5-3 in the second set only to fall to a 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-5 defeat.
Naomi Osaka followed up her opening-round win over Caroline Garcia with a 6-3, 7-6 (11-9) victory against Croatia’s Petra Martic. It is the first time the former world No 1 has put together back-to-back victories since her return from maternity leave last month in Brisbane.