Top 10 seeds Jasmine Paolini and Elena Rybakina both swept past dangerous opponents in straight sets to reach the last 16 of the Qatar TotalEnergies Open.
No. 4 Paolini came from a break down in the second set to defeat wild card Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-4 in 1 hour and 12 minutes. She was followed on Grandstand 1 by No. 5 Elena Rybakina, who held off a late charge by Peyton Stearns to come through 6-2, 6-4 in 1 hour and 13 minutes.
Doha: Draws | Scores | Order of Play | Main draw breakdown
Paolini's much-vaunted improvement from No. 64 exactly two years ago to her current career high of No. 4 this week can be tracked by the way the Italian has turned round her rivalry with Garcia. Over their first four meetings, between 2020 and February 2023, Paolini was unable to win a set. Since October 2023, she has been the victor on four out of five occasions.
Paolini had all the answers during her second straight-sets win over Garcia in a row. When she was on the front foot, she pummelled her forehand and ran the Frenchwoman from side to side relentlessly. When Garcia tried to get the first strike in, Paolini was able to redirect pace and chase down would-be winners. Paolini also delivered when it came to touch shots and net play, tallying 12 winners to 15 unforced errors. By contrast, Garcia struck 18 winners but committed 32 unforced errors in just 19 games.
Rybakina, last year's runner-up, was in majestic form for most of her match against Stearns. Smacking exquisite backhand strikes and swatting away a series of well-timed return winners, the Kazakhstani sailed into a 6-2, 5-0 lead, where she held her first three match points.
Stearns had not had much of an impact on the match to this point, but with her back to the wall the World No. 47 found some resistance. Strong serving fended off those match points, and Stearns won four games on the trot thanks to some much-improved forehand accuracy. But Rybakina gathered herself to break for the match in the final game, sealing her fifth match point with another heavy backhand.
