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Day 3 of the Qatar Open will see the remainder of the second round of the women's singles event take place. 28 players will be in action to determine the remaining 14 spots in the third round of the WTA 1000 tournament.
Eight of the top ten seeds will play their respective second-round matches. These include World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who will be up against Ekaterina Alexandrova. Coco Gauff will also look to win her second-round match, which will be against Marta Kostyuk.
The likes of Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula and Paula Badosa will also be in action. On that note, let us take a look at the predictions for some of the singles matches that will take place on Day 3 of the Qatar Open.
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#1. Aryna Sabalenka vs Ekaterina Alexandrova
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will take on Ekaterina Alexandrova in the second round of the Qatar Open. It will be the eighth meeting between the two, with the winner facing either Elise Mertens or qualifier Cristina Bucsa.
Sabalenka will play her first match since losing the Australian Open final to Madison Keys while Alexandrova booked her place in the second round of the Qatar Open after a 6-3, 7-5 win over Emma Raducanu.
The Belarusian has won 11 out of 12 matches so far in 2025 while the Russian has triumphed in six out of nine. While Alexandrova put up a tough fight against Sabalenka, the latter's form makes it hard to expect anything other than a win for her.
Predicted Winner: Aryna Sabalenka
#2. Jelena Ostapenko vs Liudmila Samsonova
Jelena Ostapenko will take on 16th seed Liudmila Samsonova in the second round of the Qatar Open. The two will lock horns for the fifth time, with their head-to-head currently tied at 2-2. Whoever wins will face either fourth seed Jasmine Paolini or Caroline Garcia in the third round.
Samsonova received a bye to the second round of the Qatar Open by virtue of being one of the seeded players. The Russian's last tournament was the Abu Dhabi Open, where she suffered a disappointing first-round exit. Ostapenko booked her place in the second round of the WTA 1000 event with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Aoi Ito.
Ostapenko has won just two out of six matches so far in 2025 while Samsonova has triumphed in four out of eight fixtures. The Russian has a slight edge in terms of form and that couldtake her to victory and a place in the third round of the Qatar Open.
Predicted Winner: Liudmila Samsonova
#3. Jasmine Paolini vs Caroline Garcia
Fourth seed Jasmine Paolini will face Caroline Garcia in the second round of the Qatar Open. The two will lock horns for the eighth time, with the Frenchwoman leading 5-2 in the head-to-head. Whoever wins, will lock horns with either 16th seed Liudmila Samsonova or Jelena Ostapenko in the third round.
Paolini last competed at the Australian Open, where she was ousted in the third round. Caroline Garcia booked her place in the second round of the Qatar Open after a 6-1, 7-6(5) win over Yue Yuan. The Italian has won four out of six matches so far in 2025 while the Frenchwoman has triumphed in just one out of three.
While Garcia has the head-to-head lead, Paolini has been a much superior player compared to the Frenchwoman over the past year or so. The Italian should not have much of an issue beating Garcia and booking her place in the third round of the Qatar Open.
Predicted Winner: Jasmine Paolini
#4. Daria Kasatkina vs Elina Avanesyan
Tenth seed Daria Kasatkina will face Elina Avanesyan in the second round of the Qatar Open. It will be the second meeting between the two, with the Armenian beating the Russian 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(7) in the first round of the 2023 bett1open in Berlin (as it was known as the time). The winner of the match will face either sixth seed Jessica Pegula or Elina Svitolina in the third round.
Kasatkina last competed at the Abu Dhabi Open, where she suffered a defeat in her opening match. Avanesyan, on the other hand, booked her place in the second round in Doha with a 7-6(3), 1-6, 7-6(5) win over Wang Xinyu.
Both players have won six out of ten matches so far in the 2025 season but if Kasatkina is at her best, there is a good chance of her coming out on top.
Predicted Winner: Daria Kasatkina.
