In yesterday's quarter-finals of the Doha Open, Ostapenko swept past Abdul-Jabbar 6-2 6-2 to advance to the semi-finals of the Qatar Open. While the Latvian's performance on the court was outstanding, her post-match remarks attracted more attention, especially in response to the unfriendly behavior of the crowd.

Prior to the Qatar Open, the two had faced each other at the Abu Dhabi Open. In that match, Abdul-Jabbar defeated Ostapenko in straight sets, but Ostapenko got his revenge in the tournament.

This year's Qatar Open marked a resurgence for Ostapenko, who has lacked consistency in the singles competition over the past few months. On her way to the semi-finals, she also defeated world No. 4 Paulini in straight sets, showing the form she was in when she won the 2017 French Open.

This is Ostapenko's third semi-final in Doha, and she clearly wants to make her mark in the desert once again. Her best result here came in 2016, when she reached the final of the tournament but lost to Navarro in three sets.

In an interview yesterday on the field, Ostapenko made no secret of his opinion about the uncivilized behavior of the audience. During the match, the crowd sided in support of Abdul-Jabbar and even deliberately made noise to interfere with Ostapenko's serve. After the match, Ostapenko thanked those who supported her during the match, while also mentioning the crowds who cheered her on. She said:

"Thank you for not cheering me on, it makes me even more motivated. But I know there are people who cheer me on, thank you. You know, when you're playing on the pitch and everyone around you is cheering on your opponents, it's really weird. Obviously, Abdul-Jabbar represents women in the Middle East and plays here, it's really amazing, she contributes a lot to tennis, but you me off and made me more motivated, so I played better. ”

Ostapenko understands the crowd's support for the homegrown player, but she skillfully turned that preference into motivation and played at a high level with determination. The 27-year-old has a clear advantage in first-serve scoring and first-serve scoring percentage, with success rates of 71.4 per cent and 57.1 per cent, respectively.

Ostapenko will face three-time champion Swiatek in the semi-finals of the Qatar Open. Interestingly, Ostapenko has a very strong head-to-head record against Swiatek, currently leading 4-0, and this matchup is destined to be full of highlights.

Swiatek advanced to the semi-finals with a 6-2 7-5 win over Rybakina in the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open on Thursday – her 15th consecutive win in the tournament.

In a repeat of last year's final, Swiatek fell behind 2-4 in the second set and saved two break points at 4-4 to win in straight sets in one hour and 36 minutes. After beating Rybakina in last month's United Cup, Swiatek tied her head-to-head record with Rybakina at 4-4.

In the post-match interview, Swiatek said: "I'm very happy and very proud of myself, it's never easy to play against Rybakina. At the start of the second set, she raised her level, so I need to improve my form to catch up. I was very happy, especially when I broke her serve in the last game, because it was really difficult to face her serve. ”(Source: Tennis Home Author: Spark)