Naomi Osaka exits in Doha quarterfinals, Karolina Pliskova advances into semifinals

Naomi Osaka’s winning week at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open ended in the quarterfinals on Thursday, as Karolina Pliskova won the battle of former world No. 1s for the second time in two months, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5).

Pliskova won one of the best matches of 2024 over Osaka at the Brisbane International in January; arriving in Doha after winning her 17th career title in Cluj Napoca, the two-time Grand Slam finalist increased her winning streak to nine in a row with a pair of tiebreakers in 103 minutes on Center Court.

Where Pliskova came to the Middle East with plenty of momentum, Osaka was in search of inspiration after compiling a three-match losing streak from Brisbane into Abu Dhabi, where she lost a 6-0 second set to Danielle Collins.

The four-time Grand Slam champion has looked much more herself in Doha, scoring back-to-back wins for the first time since returning to action from maternity leave and showing vintage form against the likes of Caroline Garcia and Petra Martic earlier in the week.

A walkover from Ukrainian rival Lesia Tsurenko put her into the last eight, where Pliskova awaited after winning her third three-setter of the week against Australian Open quarterfinalist Linda Noskova.

Though Osaka opened with an early break, Pliskova played well on the back foot, rallying from 5-3 down in the ensuing tiebreaker to claim the opening set on her second opportunity.

Osaka took another 2-0 lead to open the second set only for Pliskova to claw back and find herself up match point in a dramatic 10th game.

Saving match point with a brutal backhand into the open court, Osaka edged closer to a deciding set with a pair of break chances on the Pliskova serve in the following game. Pliskova turned the tables once more on Osaka to hold on and earn two more match points.

The see-sawing monemtum carried into the tiebreak, but after a back-and-forth Sudden Death, Pliskova earned a fourth match point behind a barrage of powerful shots, and ultimately edged over the finish line with one last big serve.

Standing between the 2017 champion and the final is world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who won the final nine games of her quarterfinal clash with Victoria Azarenka, easing into the semifinals, 6-4, 6-0. Pliskova has famously struggled with the Pole, winning just one set in their previous encounters, and once lost a 6-0, 6-0 final to Swiatek three years ago in Rome.