After a very exciting week featuring a lot of incredible matches, the WTA 500 event in Doha will feature the top 2 seeds in the final, with World #1 Iga Swiatek taking on World #4 Jessica Pegula. Both players had disappointing runs at the Australian Open for their standards, but both have shown a very good level this week on the way to the final and Saturday should be a great final between two of the world’s top players.
WTA Doha Final Prediction
Iga Swiatek vs Jessica Pegula
Head-to-head: Swiatek 4-2 Pegula
It’s a final between the top two seeds and two of the top four players in the world rankings. Swiatek has been dominating the Tour for the better part of a year now and she swept all four matches against Pegula in 2022, dropping only one set in the process. It was a different story, however, earlier this year in the United Cup, with Pegula winnng 6-2 6-2, showing that maybe she might be ready for a big breakthrough this year. Winning here won’t make up for her four quarterfinal defeats in the past five Slams, but would surely give her a lot of confidence going forward to change that.
With all that said, Swiatek is the dominant #1 player for a reason. She rarely loses and when he does she tends to follow it up with long win streaks. As good as Pegula is, Swiatek is a clear favorite here, just like she is against any opponent she might face these days. After her surprising loss in Australia, she will be eager to prove it was just a clip by capturing her first title of what is likely to be a title-filled 2023 here in Doha. If she plays at or close to her best, there’s very little that Pegula can do to stop the world #1.
Prediction: Swiatek in 2
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane USAToday
