In the Doha quarterfinals on Wednesday, Naomi Osaka received a pass into the next round, as her opponent, Lesia Tsurenko from Ukraine, withdrew due to an elbow injury. This advancement comes as Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, continues her return to professional tennis after taking maternity leave. She now awaits either former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova or Czech teenager Linda Noskova for a spot in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, Leylah Fernandez made a significant impact as she defeated Zheng Qinwen, the runner-up at the Australian Open, with a score of 7-5, 6-3. In the opening set, Zheng had a promising lead of 5-3, but Fernandez broke her serve twice consecutively and went on to win the final four games, shifting the momentum in her favor. In the second set, Fernandez capitalized on Zheng’s weak service game in the sixth game, ultimately securing an impressive victory.
“I’m extremely pumped up, I’m super happy with my level. There’s still a lot of work to do, but so far so good, so we’re just going to keep going,” said Fernandez.
Leylah Fernandez, ranked 38th in the world and a former US Open finalist, will proceed to the quarterfinals where she will face either third seed Elena Rybakina or 16th-seeded American Emma Navarro, vying for a coveted spot in the semifinals.
In another match, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova secured her spot in the last eight with a 7-5, 6-3 triumph over Marketa Vondrousova, the reigning Wimbledon champion.
Despite her triumph over Coco Gauff in the second round, Katerina Siniakova couldn’t sustain her momentum as she suffered a straight-sets defeat against Danielle Collins.
Later today, top seed Iga Swiatek is scheduled to compete against Ekaterina Alexandrova in the round of 16.