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Elena Rybakina is the first to admit that Iga Swiatek will be her toughest test yet in Doha but also adds that she plans to focus on herself and try to outplay the world No. 2 with her aggressive game.
Since the Kazakh is seeded at No. 5, she and the second-seeded Pole are meeting a bit earlier than usual - in the quarterfinal stage.
Heading into the match, Rybakina is coming off a straight-set win over Rebecca Sramkova while Swiatek survived a major scare on Wednesday after edging out an inspired Linda Noskova 6-7 (1) 6-4 6-4.
However, the Polish tennis star's fitness is well-documented and there is no doubt not to believe that she will be ready for today's match.
Tough opponent as always, the Kazakh acknowledged.
Going to focus on myself, and try to stay aggressive on the court. Its definitely the toughest opponent so far on this tournament, so hopefully I can do well.
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Swiatek on facing Rybakina
It is not a secret that the 2022 Wimbledon champion has been one of the trickiest and most difficult opponent for the Polish five-time Grand Slam champion.
Going into today's Doha quarterfinal battle, the 25-year-old Kazakh leads their head-to-head 4-3.
And since Swiatek knows extremely well how it feels to play against Rybakina, she also perfectly knows what to expect.
She likes playing here, shes been in a final here last year, and last year also was tough. So Ill be ready for some intense rallies, and some low balls, and good serving," the Pole said.
In the past, the Polish tennis star struggled a lot against the Kazakh on hard courts.
But at the start of this season, she routed Rybakina 7-6 (5) 6-4 at the United Cup.
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Swiatek will certainly draw some confidence from that win, while the Kazakh will look to get revenge today.
