Double title holder and world No.1 Iga Swiatek swept aside Belarusian Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-0 on Thursday to qualify for the semi-finals of the WTA 1000 tournament in Doha.
The Belarusian had nevertheless tied the match at the start of the first round with the Pole, until having a break point at 4-3, dismissed by Swiatek. But this lost point was the tipping point of the entire meeting, since the Belarusian did not win a game afterwards, seeing her opponent win the following nine engagements.
In the semi-final, the world No.1 will face the Japanese Naomi Osaka or the Czech Karolina Pliskova, who face each other in the last quarter.