Veronika Kudermetova fought it all out to defeat Czech tennis player Barbora Krejcikova at the Qatar Open, Doha in the 2023 season.
The eighth seed needed exactly three hours to claim a 6-4 3-6 7-6 win over 2021 French Open champion Krejcikova. She claimed a second successive victory over the Czech national after she also won their meeting at last season’s Cincinnati Open in straight sets.
Thanks to that win, the eighth seed led their head to head lead 2-1 and he also won both of their meetings in junior tournaments in 2013.
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Throughout the match, Kudermetova’s performance was more stable. She shot fewer winners by creating 27 winners, while Krejcikova produced 41 winners. But he committed 18 unforced errors, fewer than the 25 that flowed from the Czech national. He also appeared solid with his first serve after he won 74 percent of the points from the serve.
After both players claimed victory in the first two sets, they engaged in a fierce battle in the third before Krejcikova forced a tiebreak after finding her best forehand. However, Kudermetova’s groundstrokes proved more capable and she converted a second match point with an unanticipated backhand.
The world number 11 has now won all four tiebreakers she has played this season and the six since last September in Tokyo.
Standing between Veronika Kudermetova and a place in the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open will be American Sofia Kenin or compatriot Liudmila Samsonova.
In other action, former world number 1 Victoria Azarenka had a smoother first round match when she crushed Turkish tennis player Ipek Oz 6-1 6-1.
Oz was facing a top 20 player for the first time in her career and Azarenka was dominant throughout the 67-minute match, showing the form that helped her win back-to-back Qatar Opens in 2012 and 2013. She is currently 19-2 in Doha.
The world number 187, Oz took to court swathed in the Turkish national flag, in a show of support for his homeland devastated by last week’s earthquake.
“I believe it’s very difficult for Oz to get on the pitch and play at the moment, considering everything that’s going on. So I hope he stays strong. Hopefully everything will get better,” said Azarenka showing her empathy for the Turkish tennis player.
In the second round, Azarenka will face seventh seed Belinda Bencic or Bulgarian tennis player Viktoriya Tomova.
Meanwhile, Czech tennis player Karolina Muchova managed to beat third seed Caroline Garcia 6-2 6-2 and booked a second round match against compatriot Karolina Pliskova or Ekaterina Alexandrova.
