WTA Qatar Final Prediction

Anett Kontaveit vs Iga Swiatek

Head-to-head: Kontaveit 2-2 Swiatek

Kontaveit secured her spot in the Doha final by ending Jelena Ostapenko’s nine-match winning streak, with a 6-1 6-4 win. As well as Kontaveit has played over the last six months. there’s still the issue of her being able to translate that form to the biggest stages. Winning in Doha would be a step in the right direction as it would be her first 1000 level title, the biggest of her career. The 26-yer-old is guaranteed to reach a new career high ranking of #4 in the world, #3 if she wins the title and would be just a few points off the second spot.

Swiatek is playing some of her best tennis at the moment. The Pole got off to scratchy start this week as she required three sets to get the better of Viktorija Golubic but has responded well with commanding straight set wins over Daria Kasatkina 6-3 6-0, Aryna Sabalenka 6-2 6-3 and Maria Sakkari 6-4 6-3. It’s worth noting that Swiatek has a brilliant record in finals, the Pole has won her last 3 finals in straight sets dropping an average of 1.5 games per set.

Swiatek won the last couple of meetings between the pair, both in 2021. A 7-6 6-0 win at Roland Garros was followed by a 6-3 4-6 6-3 victory at the US Open. Kontaveit still leads the head-to-head 2-1 on hard courts having won the first two meetings between the pair. Swiatek looks dangerous right now and she has had the recent edge in the head-to-head series. However, it’s too hard to pick against Kontaveit at the moment. Kontaveit is simply the second best player in the world right now behind Ash Barty. The surface favours Kontaveit in this matchup, with Swiatek enjoying time on the ball that she won’t get that here.

Prediction: Kontaveit in 2