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DOHA: Amanda Anisimova clinched the first WTA 1000 title of her career with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Jelena Ostapenko in a rain-interrupted Qatar Open final on Saturday.
At 41 in the world, Anisimova is the lowest-ranked champion in tournament history and the first American to triumph in Doha since Monica Seles lifted the trophy in 2002.
Ostapenko was coming off a resounding 6-3, 6-1 victory over three-time champion and world number two Iga Swiatek in the previous round but Anisimova gave the Latvian a taste of her own medicine, showcasing incredible ball-striking and precision.
In the first WTA 1000 final to feature two players ranked outside the top 30, Ostapenko and Anisimova traded heavy blows from the baseline, both utilising the same aggressive game style that carried them into the championship match.
Anisimova, 23, was the more clinical of the pair in the opening set, as she remained unfazed when her early break of serve was nullified by Ostapenko and broke again in the tenth game to take the lead in 37 minutes.
It was the first set Ostapenko dropped all week, the five double faults she committed proving costly against a dialled-in Anisimova.
Anisimova, who stormed past Russian world number 26 Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3, 6-3 on Friday, looked on her way to a comfortable win when she broke for a 2-1 advantage in the second set but Ostapenko responded immediately and got the set back on serve.
Rain suspended play with Ostapenko serving at 3-3, 40-40 and players were taken off court for nearly 25 minutes.
Anisimova broke serve upon resumption of play and kept up her all-out attack strategy to wrap up the win after one hour and 21 minutes of play.
On Friday, Ostapenko, the 2017 Roland Garros champion, had become the first player to defeat Swiatek on five occasions.
Swiatek entered the semi-finals carrying a 15-match winning streak in Doha, having clinched the title in each of the last three editions.
The five-time Grand Slam champion was looking to become the first player since 2011 — and just second this century — to win the same WTA tournament four years in a row but Ostapenko had other ideas.
Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2025
