Qatar Open 2022: Iga Swiatek vs Daria Kasatkina preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (7) Iga Swiatek vs Daria Kasatkina

Date: 23 February 2022

Tournament: Qatar Open

Round: Third round (Round of 16)

Venue: Doha, Qatar

Category: WTA 1000

Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt

Prize money: $2,331,698

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video

Iga Swiatek vs Daria Kasatkina preview

Seventh seed Iga Swiatek will take on Daria Kasatkina in the third round of the 2022 Qatar Open on Wednesday. While Swiatek prevailed over Viktorija Golubic 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, Jaqueline Cristian's mid-match retirement allowed Kasatkina to move into the third round.

Swiatek has established her name amongst the dominant forces on the WTA tour at the moment. The 20-year-old started her 2022 season by making the last four in Adelaide and going on to reach her maiden semifinal at the Australian Open. Her impressive results propelled her to a career-high ranking of No. 4.

Returning to action during the Middle East swing, the Pole went down fighting against eventual champion Jelena Ostapenko in the second round in Dubai. Currently ranked No. 8 in the world, Iga Swiatek has a chance to return to the top 5 with a deep run this week.

Daria Kasatkina at the 2022 Sydney Tennis Classic

Daria Kasatkina, meanwhile, notched up some encouraging results at the start of the season. She bagged back-to-back semi-final berths in Melbourne and Sydney, losing to eventual champions Amanda Anisimova and Paula Badosa respectively.

Interestingly, her campaigns in her subsequent tournaments were all cut short by Iga Swiatek. The Pole despatched the Russian in straight sets in the third and first rounds in Melbourne and Dubai respectively. Kasatkina, therefore, will be hoping to snap her losing streak when she takes to court against Swiatek on Wednesday.

Iga Swiatek vs Daria Kasatkina head-to-head

The duo have clashed thrice before and Iga Swiatek leads the head-to-head 2-1. She won their most recent encounter, which took place in Dubai last week, in straight sets.

Iga Swiatek vs Daria Kasatkina prediction

Iga Swiatek and Daria Kasatkina both impart heavy topspin on their groundstrokes and like to take the ball on the rise. Swiatek relies on meticulous point construction to gain the edge in rallies and will hope to elicit errors from Kasatkina's racquet by moving her around the court.

Iga Swiatek in action at the 2022 Australian Open

The duo aren't the most proficient servers on tour, but Swiatek's ability to stay solid on second serve is likely to play in her favor. She has, however, struggled to maintain a healthy first serve percentage and will look to improve that against Kasatkina.

The Russian's tendency to leak untimely unforced errors has led to her undoing in the past. If Iga Swiatek can stay clutch during rallies and push Daria Kasatkina further behind the baseline, she should be able to eke out a win.

Prediction: Iga Swiatek to win in straight sets.