Swiatek beats Rybakina to secure third straight Qatar Open crown

World number one Iga Swiatek won the Qatar Open for the third year in a row on Saturday after beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (10/8), 6-2 in the final.

Swiatek is the first player to win three straight titles at the same WTA event since Serena Williams completed a Miami Open hat-trick from 2013-15.

Rybakina fell short in her bid for a third title of the year. She had lifted the trophy last week in Abu Dhabi after winning in Brisbane at the start of January.

Swiatek, who entered the final having won her last 21 sets at the tournament, made a dreadful start as she fell a double break behind at 1-4.

The Pole broke twice in succession to bring the set back on serve, but it looked as if Rybakina would snatch it when she won a lengthy 11th game to go 6-5 up with her service game to come.

Iga Swiatek poses with the trophy after winning the final against Elena Rybakina. Reuters

Swiatek rallied once more to force a tie-break but failed to take two set points before having to save one herself. After another missed opportunity, the top seed closed the set out at the fourth time of asking.

She saved two set points early in the second set before putting her foot down to sweep into a 3-1 lead. A second break of the Kazakh in the seventh game left Swiatek on the cusp of victory, which she wrapped up in two hours and 19 minutes.

Elena Rybakina is greeted as Sheikha Al Mayassa Bint Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani looks on during the ceremony. Reuters

Birthday-boy De Minaur reaches Rotterdam Open: Australia’s Alex de Minaur celebrated his 25th birthday in style Saturday, powering into the Rotterdam Open final with a straight-sets win over Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov in a high-quality encounter.

The 6-4, 6-3 victory will take De Minaur to a career-high number nine in the world rankings — his first time in the top 10 — and sets up a possible final with Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner.

It was deja vu for the Australian — he also spent his 24th birthday in Rotterdam playing Dimitrov. Last year, de Minaur squandered two match points to crash out in the quarters. This time, he started quickly, breaking Dimitrov’s first service game to love.

Dimitrov worked his way into the match using his trademark backhand slice to break up the Australian’s rhythm and powerful forehand groundstrokes to back up a strong service.

De Minaur retrieved impressively and made few unforced errors, holding his serve despite constant Dimitrov pressure and eventually taking an entertaining first set 6-4.

Agencies