Two streaks collide as Kontaveit, Ostapenko get a rematch in Doha semifinals

WATCH: Top seed Aryna Sabalenka claimed a spot in the Doha quarterfinals with a victory over Jill Teichmann.

For the second time this month, Anett Kontaveit and Jelena Ostapenko are set to meet in a WTA semifinal, after advancing to the last four at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open in Doha. The last time these two faced off was in St. Petersburg, and both players were on the indoor hard courts seeking some much-needed momentum after lackluster results in Australia.

Now, it will be a completely different story. Since defeating Ostapenko, Kontaveit has gone on to lift the St. Petersburg trophy and extend her winning streak to eight matches after taking down crowd favorite Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-1 in Doha. In the meantime, Ostapenko has not lost a match either, and has shown some of the best tennis we’ve seen from her in years on her way to nine consecutive victories, including the Dubai title.

Their winning streaks will be put to the test in Doha, where Ostapenko and Kontaveit will face off for a spot in their first WTA 1000 final in some time: for Ostapenko, it would be the former Roland Garros champion’s biggest final since her 2018 run in Miami, and for Kontaveit, who reached the championship match at the WTA Finals in Guadalajara, it would be her second-biggest final appearance since Wuhan in 2018.

“I think it's going to be very tough. I mean, it was a tough match in St. Pete, as well,” Kontaveit recalled after her win over Jabeur in the quarterfinals. “It's going to be a difficult match, for sure. She's playing super aggressive. So I'm just going to have to try and do my best and whatever happens, happens.

“I'm just going to fight for every point, and I'm not too worried or focused on the result or who wins or who loses. Just going to have to fight very hard for every point and play like a consistent match."

In St. Petersburg, No. 4 seed Kontaveit needed just an hour and 11 minutes to hold off Ostapenko in a 6-3, 6-4 battle on her way to the final. When the week was over, the Estonian extended her indoor hard court winning streak to 20 matches in a row, including title runs at Ostrava, Moscow and Cluj-Napoca along the way.

Ostapenko bounced back emphatically the next week in Dubai, where she won her fifth career title—sweeping past four Grand Slam champions in a row in the process. In fact, during her undefeated run in the Middle East, Ostapenko has taken down a major winner in six of her nine victories:

• d. Sofia Kenin 6-1, 6-2 — Dubai R1
• d. Iga Swiatek 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4) — Dubai R2
• d. Petra Kvitova 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(9) — Dubai QF
• d. Simona Halep 2-6, 7-6(0), 6-0 — Dubai SF
• d. Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 6-2 — Doha R3
• d. Garbine Muguruza 6-2, 6-2 — Doha QF

The Latvian’s latest victim, Garbine Muguruza, hit just five winners against her opponent 39 as No. 15 seed Ostapenko charged to a 6-2, 6-2 victory. Her nine-match win streak is the best of her career, and the 24-year-old says that she finds a better level whenever she’s playing the world’s best players.

“I think it's even better when I play good players during the tournament, because then I'm more focused,” she explained after her win over Muguruza. “Because if you play against someone you should win, you're… like, not relaxed, but you kind of have it in your mind. But if you play against someone who is really good, you know that it's going to be a tough battle and you're ready for it.”

While the Dubai champ takes on the St. Petersburg champ in one semifinal, French Open champion Iga Swiatek will meet No. 6 seed Maria Sakkari in another. Swiatek, the No. 7 seed, broke Aryna Sabalenka seven times en route to a 6-2, 6-3 victory, while Sakkari halted Coco Gauff’s progress 6-3, 6-3 to advance.

Sakkari and Swiatek met three times in 2021 and most recently at the WTA Finals, where Sakkari clinched a commanding 6-2, 6-4 victory to bring her head-to-head record against Swiatek to 3-0.