If you have a good idea of who’s going to win this match, you’re a more confident prognosticator than I am. If you thought this match would happen in the first place, you’re a better one. In my semifinal previews, I picked Jelena Ostapenko to lose to Iga Swiatek, and Amanda Anisimova to lose to Ekaterina Alexandrova. They wanted no time proving me wrong with easy, one-sided victories.
So it’s clear that the unseeded American and Latvian, who are currently ranked 41st and 37th, are dialed in. Ostapenko hasn’t lost a set in Doha, and was in complete control against world No. 2 Iga Swiatek in her 6-3, 6-1 win on Friday. Anisimova, meanwhile, has dropped just one set, in her quarterfinal against Marta Kostyuk. Anisimova says that a recent training block with her team is paying off, and that she has gained confidence with each win this week. Ostapenko, who was heckled during her quarterfinal win over local fan favorite Ons Jabeur, seems extra motivated to decimate the competition.
“I think she really like the courts here,” Anisimova says of Ostapenko. “She’s been playing lights out.”
