Alexandrova remains hot to anesthetize # 1 Sabalenka

In the form of Ekaterina Alexandrova, the third rebellion delivered in so many midfield matches at Qatar TotalEnervies open Tuesday with a fantastic 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) comeback against the world No. 1 ARYNA Sabalenka in the second round.

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Sabalenka, 2020’s Doha Master, was last mentioned in the draw in 2022, where she lost in the quarterfinals to Iga Swatek. When she returned this year as the top seed, she was facing a tough first enemy in the red-hot Alexandrova, who went into the fight Fresh of her first WTA 500 title on Upper Austria Ladies Linz and had beaten Emma Raducanu in the first round For her fifth consecutive victory.

And after dropping the first set, Alexandrova wasn’t by letting her strip end quietly. She came from a crash twice in the third set, twice holding servant to stay in the match and eventually packed her second career victory against a world # 1 in less than a year. She first earned the milestone last March in Miami by beating the then top ranked Iga Swatek.

Read on for several takeaways from Alexandrova’s sixth straight victory, which also helped her match her best Doha result.

Another tight tussle between large meetings: Sabalenka had often had trouble Alexandrova, where he entered Tuesday’s clash with a slim 4-3-winning record against her unrequited enemy that possesses an impressive power game. But the vast majority of these matches were decided in straight sets – maybe a nod to both players’ ability to dominate when they are confident.

Although their head-to-head dates from 2017, Sabalenka had won the pair’s only three setter first recently: a fairly routine performance at the US Open last year despite losing the first set, 2-6, 6-1, 6 -2.

But over two hours and 36 minutes it was Alexandrova’s time to turn tables.

More to come …