WORLD number one, Ash Barty has played her first match since her semi-final exit at the Australian Open, rolling past German, Laura Siegemund in 73 minutes. The Australian star won 6-3 6-2 in a straightforward match to dust off the cobwebs and move into the Round of 16. There were still plenty of areas Barty could improve on, with her serving efficiency down (59.3 per cent), but she was able to win 68.8 per cent of her first serve points, and attack her opponents’ more reliable but less potent serve. It was a solid win from Barty against an opponent who is no slouch – Siegemund is ranked 68th and has two WTA Tours to her name – and it was a vital win for setting up a blockbuster Round of 16 clash.

The Australian now faces the most in-form player on tour in Elena Rybakina, who has made four of a possible five finals this year, with the only exception being the Australian Open. There, she was knocked out by none other than Barty, and will be keen to bounce back with a win here in Doha. The Kazakhstan 20-year-old keeps doing it the hard way through with her second successive three-set match, having to come from a set down to post a win. She knocked off experienced Belgian, Alison Van Uytvanck 5-7 6-2 7-6, winning the final set tiebreaker a nerve-wracking 10-8.

Rybakina was joined in the next by compatriot, 25-year-old Yulia Putintseva who shocked 16th seed, Elise Mertens 4-6 6-3 6-2 in exactly two hours to set up a Round of 16 encounter against fourth seed, Belinda Bencic who downed Russian Veronika Kudermetova 6-4 4-6 7-6. Also in the bottom half of the draw, Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova set up a clash with Amanda Anisimova following a 6-2 6-2 rout of Poland’s Iga Swiatek, while Zheng Saisai moved through against another Russian in Vera Zvonareva 7-5 6-1 to face seventh seed, Kiki Bertens in the Round of 16.

Another huge upset was Ukrainian teenager, Dayana Yastremska‘s straight sets win over Australian Open winner, Sofia Kenin. It meant back-to-back WTA Tour singles losses for the world number five – having moved up due to others dropping points – who also dropped a match to Jelena Ostapenko at Fed Cup. Yastremska won in an hour and 35 minutes, powering to a 6-3 7-6 victory which included 13 aces and winning 67.4 per cent of her first serve points. She now takes on Kenin’s Australian Open final opponent in Garbine Muguruza who toppled Ajla Tomljanovic 6-1 6-2 in a one-sided domination.

In more predictable results, third seed Karolina Pliskova raced through to the Round of 16 in just 55 minutes with a 6-3 6-0 smashing of American Bernarda Pera, while both the eighth and ninth seeds – Petra Kvitova and Aryna Sabalenka – had to fight hard against Carla Suarez Navarro and Anett Kontaveit respectively to win in three sets each. Meanwhile Greek, Maria Sakkari got past Czech, Tereza Martincova 3-6 7-6 6-0.

In the two remaining unseeded matches, Ostapenko blitzed Czech Barbora Strycova 6-1 6-2, while Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur built on her great 2020 form with a straight sets win over the equally damaging, Jennifer Brady 6-4 6-3.

ROUND OF 16 RESULTS:

[1] A. Barty (AUS) defeated L. Siegemund (GER) 6-3 6-2
[3] K. Pliskova (CZE) defeated B. Pera (USA) 6-3 6-0
[4] B. Bencic (SUI) defeated V. Kudermetova (RUS)
D. Yastremska (UKR) defeated [6] S. Kenin (USA) 6-3 7-6
[8] P. Kvitova (CZE) defeated C. Suarez Navarro (ESP) 4-6 6-3 6-0
[9] A. Sabalenka (BLR) defeated A. Kontaveit (EST) 7-5 2-6 7-5
[11] G. Muguruza (ESP) defaeted A. Tomljanovic (AUS) 6-1 6-2
[14] E. Rybakina (KAZ) defeated A. Van Uytvanck (BEL) 5-7 6-2 7-6
[15] M. Sakkari (GRE) T. Martincova (CZE)
Y. Putintseva (KAZ) defeated [16] E. Mertens (BEL) 4-6 6-3 6-2
J. Ostapenko (LAT) defeated B. Strycova (CZE) 6-1 6-2
S. Zheng (CHN) defeated V. Zvonareva (RUS) 7-5 6-1
S. Kuznetsova (RUS) defeated I. Swiatek (POL) 6-2 6-2
O. Jabeur (TUN) J. Brady (USA)