Iga Swiatek streaks in Doha, plus all the other tungsten titans you missed
After winning the title in Doha for the third consecutive year, Iga Swiatek admitted she was unaware of the significance of the achievement. Her victory Saturday made her the first player to win the Doha title more than twice and the first woman to win a singles title at an event in three straight years since Serena Williams did so in Miami from 2013 to 2015.
Despite her clay court dominance, Swiatek has become virtually unbeatable in Doha. With her 7-6 (8), 6-2 victory over Elena Rybakina on Saturday, she improved to 7-0 in Doha finals and extended her winning streak at the Qatar Telecom Golf Trophy to 11 matches.
The run also marked her first title of the season and her 18th overall. She's now broken through to the second week of a Grand Slam in nine consecutive appearances.
Other winners this week include:
- Jannik Sinner improved to 12-0 on the year and claimed his 12th career title with a straight-sets victory over Alex de Minaur at Rotterdam.
- Taylor Fritz successfully defended his title at Delray Beach, leaving little doubt in a straight sets victory over Tommy Paul.
- Wild card Facundo Diaz Acosta earned his first ATP title at the Argentina Open, defeating top seed Nicolas Jarry in straight sets. He never dropped a set all tournament.
- Karolina Pliskova won the title at the Transylvania Open, immediately got on a private jet to Istanbul, and then 24 hours later defeated Naomi Osaka 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) in the quarterfinals of Doha.
Unfortunately, Pliskova had to withdraw before the semifinals due to an injury.
Rafael Nadal expressed his goal of returning to action this week in Doha, but he ultimately decided he wasn't ready to compete. The 37-year-old missed most of the 2023 season due to a hip injury and last played in Brisbane, where he reached the quarterfinals.
Finally, after a 18-month ban imposed for missing three drug tests in the span of a year, Jenson Brooksby's nightmare is over. The International Tennis Integrity Agency announced the reduction of his ban, citing new information relating to the circumstances of his missed tests. Brooksby's ban has been reduced to 13 months and retroactively applied to the date of his third missed test. The original suspension was set to end in January 2025. "It gives me tremendous joy and relief that I can get back to doing what I love," Brooksby said on social media. "The last 13 months have been exhausting and a nightmare I don't wish on anyone."
At just 23 years old, Brooksby has already achieved a career-high ranking of No. 33. With his return on March 3, 2024, we'll see if he can improve on that.