On a busy Day 1 at the WTA 1000 Qatar TotalEnergies Open, Mirra Andreeva battled to a first-round victory, Ekaterina Alexandrova avenged her narrow Australian Open loss to Emma Raducanu, and Amanda Anisimova ousted two-time champion Victoria Azarenka.
Doha: Draws | Scores | Order of Play | Main draw breakdown
No. 12 seed Andreeva overcame Katie Volynets of the United States 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 in a 2-hour and 33-minute tussle at the hard-court event on Sunday. Andreeva exacted some revenge for a loss to Volynets in their only previous meeting, at Indian Wells last year.
Andreeva found herself a set and a break down at 6-4, 3-2 before working her way back into the match. Andreeva failed to convert a couple set points at 5-4 in the second set, but the 17-year-old held on to take the tiebreak and force a decider.
Andreeva saw an early third-set break slip away, but she reclaimed her advantage with a love break for a 5-4 lead. The teenager then served out the match to improve to 7-2 on the year (and both of her 2025 losses came against World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka).
Alexandrova turns tables on Raducanu: Alexandrova followed on Center Court, collecting a 6-3, 7-5 victory over 2021 US Open champion Raducanu.
Raducanu knocked Alexandrova out of this year's Australian Open in two tiebreak sets, but it was Alexandrova who took the win on Sunday after 1 hour and 42 minutes.
"I was looking forward to this match because the last match we played, it was very close and very difficult, and I was really upset after that match," Alexandrova said on court afterwards. "When I saw the draw, I thought that maybe it’s gonna be my chance. And I’m glad that I could win, even [though] it was a pretty difficult match to play. She played well."
Alexandrova is currently riding a five-match winning streak. The World No. 25 won the Linz title just over a week ago, collecting the champion's trophy at that event for the first time after two previous runner-up finishes.
Alexandrova will now take on World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the second round. Alexandrova has hung with Sabalenka in their rivalry -- Sabalenka's head-to-head lead is only 4-3, and Alexandrova pushed eventual champion Sabalenka to three sets at the 2024 US Open.
Anisimova ousts Azarenka in late-night showdown: In the nightcap match, the United States' Anisimova eased to a 6-3, 7-5 win over former World No. 1 Azarenka.
In the 1-hour and 34-minute match, Anisimova slammed six aces -- including two consecutively on the final two points, which came just before 12:30 a.m. local time. Anisimova now has a 2-1 lead in their head-to-head.
Highlights: Anisimova def. Azarenka
Azarenka won this title back-to-back in 2012 and 2013 and came into this match with a stellar 22-4 win-loss record in Doha. But she quickly fell behind by a set and a break, and despite a late surge in the second set, she was not able to withstand the American's fight.
Anisimova is now a win away from matching her career-best Doha showing, a Round of 16 finish in 2020. Anisimova has also recently posted her career-best WTA 1000 result, making last year's WTA 1000 Toronto final.
