Qatar Total Energies Open: Karolina Pliskova progresses to the semifinals by defeating Naomi Osaka in the Doha quarterfinals

At the Qatar TotalEnergies Open, Pliskova prevailed over the former No. 1s for the second time in two months, extending her winning run to nine matches.

Karolina Pliskova defeated Naomi Osaka in the quarterfinals of the Qatar TotalEnergies Open on Thursday, capping Osaka’s victorious week. It was the second time in two months that the two former world No. 1s had faced off, with Pliskova winning 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5).

Pliskova defeated Osaka in one of the greatest matches of 2024 at the Brisbane International in January. The two-time Grand Slam finalist traveled to Doha following her victory in Cluj Napoca, where she won her 17th career title. In 103 minutes on Center Court, she won two tiebreakers to extend her winning streak to nine matches.

While Pliskova arrived in the Middle East with a lot of momentum, Osaka was looking for motivation following a three-match losing skid that began in Brisbane and ended in Abu Dhabi, when she fell to Danielle Collins 6-0 in the second set.

The four-time Grand Slam champion has never looked better in Doha. Earlier in the week, she defeated players like Caroline Garcia and Petra Martic and won back-to-back matches for the first time since her maternity break ended.

After defeating Australian Open quarterfinalist Linda Noskova in her third three-setter of the week, Pliskova advanced to the last eight where she was met with a walkover from opponent Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine.

Despite Osaka’s early break advantage, Pliskova performed admirably on the back foot, coming back from a 5-3 deficit in the ensuing tiebreaker to win the opening set on her second try.

In a thrilling tenth game, Pliskova overcame Osaka’s early 2-0 lead to take the second set and earn herself match point.
With two break opportunities on Pliskova’s serve in the next game, Osaka moved closer to a decisive set after saving match point with a vicious backhand into the open court. To maintain her lead and secure two further match points, Pliskova once again turned the tables on Osaka.

The see-sawing monemtum carried into the tiebreak, but after a back-and-forth Sudden Death, Pliskova earned a fourth match point behind a barrage of powerful shots, and ultimately edged over the finish line with one last big serve.

Standing between the 2017 champion and the final is world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who won the final nine games of her quarterfinal clash with Victoria Azarenka, easing into the semifinals, 6-4, 6-0. Pliskova has famously struggled with the Pole, winning just one set in their previous encounters, and once lost a 6-0, 6-0 final to Swiatek three years ago in Rome.