Karolina Muchova has just reached her maiden Doha semifinal after beating Anna Kalinskaya 6-3 6-4 in just under an hour and a half of play.
The Czech tennis star, who is seeded at No. 14 in the opening WTA 1000 tournament of the year, blew an early break in the first set but broke the 29th-ranked Russian again in the sixth game before closing out the opener on her serve in the ninth game.
Down by a set, Kalinskaya responded by opening a 4-1 lead in the second set and putting herself in a strong position to make the match go the distance. But just when it seemed that their Doha quarterfinal match would go three sets, Muchova went on an impressive five-game winning run to overturn the deficit and get the job done in two sets.
Who is Muchova's Doha semifinal opponent?
For a place in the Qatar Open final, Muchova will play against Maria Sakkari, who upset No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek today. When the 2023 French Open finalist and Sakkari meet on Friday in Doha, it will be their sixth meeting. The Czech leads their head-to-head 4-1 and it is also interesting that she beat the Greek en route to making her maiden Grand Slam final at the French Open three years ago.
“We played quite a few times. It’s been a while. I watched the match with Iga. It was a great battle. They both played incredible. It’s gonna be tough for sure but I’m willing to take on that challenge," the 14th-seeded Czech said of facing Sakkari.
If Muchova beats Sakkari, she will make her first final since Beijing 2024.
