February 26 – March 1, 2007
Doha, Qatar
2006 Results: (2) Nadia Petrova d. (1) Amelie Mauresmo 6-3, 7-5
Last week’s Dubai Duty Free Women’s Open may lead the Tier II’s in prize money, but the Qatar Total Open is a close second. With a combined purse of $1,340,00 dollars, the Qatar Tennis Federation is able to attract some of the best players in the world, no small part due to the fact that many of them are already in the Middle East for Dubai’s championships.
This year the Qatar Total Open attracted a stellar field led by Dubai Duty Free champion and world number two Justine Henin. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Martina Hingis, and Jelena Jankovic are also taking advantage of the short, one-hour travel time between Dubai and Doha.
Seeded Players
1. Justine Henin
2. Svetlana Kuznetsova
3. Martina Hingis
4. Jelena Jankovic
5. Patty Schnyder
6. Daniela Hantuchova
7. Anna-Lena Groenefeld
8. Francesca Schiavone
A Quick Look at the Draw
Top Quarter
Justine Henin extended her perfect record at Dubai to 16-0 on Saturday, and I was a little surprised to see her entered into the draw here after Paris and Dubai. Henin is more than capable of winning back-to-back titles, but she’ll have a tough quarter to play through before next Sunday’s final. She has a chance of meeting Alicia Molik in the second round and although Molik recently admitted that she is no Martina Hingis, she is doing a great job of climbing back up the rankings.
Second Quarter
Jelena Jankovic fell and sprained her ankle during her semifinal match against Amelie Mauresmo in Dubai, forcing her to retire, but the damage must have been mild as she has accepted a wild card into Doha. Like Henin, she is not one to take chances with her health, but she knows that she is in for a fight to hold onto her newly-reclaimed spot in the top ten. The best player that could be a threat to Jankovic before the semifinals is India’s Sania Mirza as Anna-Lena Groenefeld’s ranking – and game – keeps falling by the week.
Third Quarter
Martina Hingis was fatigued after her grueling schedule at the Dubai Duty Free, and in typical style, she let the tournament directors know all about it. She has had a few days to cool down and rest up, and hopefully the scheduling in Doha is more to her liking. Hingis is fine as long as she can use her head for straight set wins, but gutting out a win in three sets has never been her strong suit. She could be in for a long match against Eleni Daniilidou or Daniela Hantuchova in the quarterfinals, followed by a repeat of last year’s quarterfinal in the semifinals against Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Bottom Quarter
Svetlana Kuznetsova has come a long way since her breakthrough win at the US Open in 2004, and it is often easy to forget that she is a Grand Slam champion. Her game has been up and down since her big victory at Flushing Meadows and at this point, Kuznetsova is sitting in the middle of the top ten and does not look like she will be moving in either direction any time soon. Her game is still solid, but she is lacking the mental confidence that she can beat the likes of Sharapova, Henin, Mauresmo, and even Clijsters routinely. She has just three wins (2 were at the WTA Championships) over her fellow top ten players since September and with her title defense at Miami just around the corner, she needs a solid run at Doha to help boost her fledging confidence.
Do you have a website that has all the brackets for the tournament from start to finish ? It would be nice to know ahead-of-time to know; who plays who from start to finish.
Thanks
Hi Barry,
You can find all of the draws for the tournaments that are going on this week here: http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/2/draws/
Hope this helps!