DOHA — CiCi Bellis is finding her groove at the Qatar Total Open, upsetting No. 12-seeded Madison Keys, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 on Wednesday for her fourth win of the week.
Under hazy skies, the 18-year-old qualifier took some time to settle into a quiet outside court, as Keys lost her range, committing a flurry of errors to let the match slip away—very quickly.
“I think maybe halfway into the second set it started shifting a bit. I got a little lucky on a few balls the wind took, and I think she shanked a few,” the steadier Bellis said. “And then the third I just really started to get a good rhythm, making a lot of first serves.”
Keys and Bellis had never faced each other on tour before, but share a training facility (the USTA National Campus) as well as a physio and fitness trainer in Doha.
“I mean we know each other's game pretty well, but it wasn't like we'd played a bunch of [practice] sets over the years,” Bellis said. “It’s definitely tough to play against people that you know that well. But it's just something that's going to happen for sure.”
Last year marked Bellis’ first Premier 5 quarterfinal appearance in Dubai, and now she’s one match away from repeating that run here (Doha and Dubai swap WTA levels each season).
“I love it here,” Bellis said. “I feel really comfortable here, and both sites are so nice and the player hotels are amazing. So yeah, just feels really relaxed and awesome.”
Bellis raved about the comfort of the tournament hotel (it’s a Four Seasons resort) and the proximity to the beach—a perk that a teenager from California would certainly relish.
“Every afternoon when we're done with practice, we go down to the beach and like lay there,” Bellis said. “You don't get to do that in a lot of places. So it's so nice the hotel is really right on it. It's just important, taking your mind off the tournaments.”