Iga Swiatek Eases Into Qatar Open Last Eight As Naomi Osaka Gets Walkover

World number one Iga Swiatek reached the Qatar Open quarter-finals for a third successive year on Wednesday as fellow four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka also made the last eight without hitting a ball. Swiatek, the two-time defending champion at the Gulf event, defeated 14th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-1, 6-4. The Russian battled bravely, saving four match points in the 10th game of the second set before Swiatek came through. The 22-year-old Pole will face another two-time Doha champion, Victoria Azarenka, in Thursday's quarter-finals. Former world number one Azarenka beat eighth-seeded Jelena Ostapenko 6-0, 6-3 for her third win over the Latvian this year.

Swiatek now has a 11-1 record in Doha, with her lone loss at the tournament coming to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the 2020 second round.

Osaka advanced earlier Wednesday after Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko, who beat fourth seed Ons Jabeur in round two, pulled out with an elbow injury.

Osaka will meet another former world number one, Karolina Pliskova, for a place in the last four as the Japanese star continues her comeback following maternity leave.

The 26-year-old is through to her first WTA quarter-final since reaching the Miami Open final almost two years ago.

Pliskova, who won her first title in four years in Romania last week, fought back from the brink of defeat to overcome Czech teenager Linda Noskova 3-6, 7-5, 6-1.

Noskova served for the match up 5-4 in the second set before the wheels came off against two-time Grand Slam finalist Pliskova.

Leylah Fernandez knocked out Australian Open runner-up Zheng Qinwen 7-5, 6-3.

Chinese fifth seed Zheng let slip a strong position in the opening set where she led 5-3, as Fernandez broke twice in a row and reeled off the