Qatar Open: Jelena Ostapenko defeats Garbine Muguruza for ninth successive win

Jelena Ostapenko racked up her ninth successive win on Thursday by sweeping past fifth-seeded Garbine Muguruza 6-2, 6-2 to reach the Qatar WTA semi-finals. It took 2016 Doha runner-up Ostapenko, who lifted the Dubai title last weekend, just 66 minutes to defeat Muguruza.

She will now face Anett Kontaveit for a place in the final after the Estonian fourth seed defeated Ons Jabeur of Tunisia 6-4, 6-1.

"Of course it's great to have so many matches winning, but the tournament is still not over. I hope I can keep winning here still in Doha," said Ostapenko, the 15th seed. Polish seventh seed Iga Swiatek stunned top seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 6-3 to also reach the semi-finals where she will take on Greek sixth seed Maria Sakkari who defeated US teenager Coco Gauff, 6-3, 6-3.

"This match is going to give me a lot of confidence," Swiatek said.

Swiatek and Sakkari have met three times, all in 2021, and Sakkari emerged the winner each time, including in the French Open quarter-finals where the Greek ended Swiatek's title defence.