The 6-foot Kazakh has one of the game’s best serves, which comes in handy as a way to neutralize Iga’s biggest weapon, her return.

Iga Swiatek is chasing history at the Qatar Open as she’s bidding to become the second woman since 2000 to win a tournament four times in a row. World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka and World No.3 Coco Gauff‘s exit made her quest easier but she passed a tricky fourth-round test from Linda Noskova.

Rybakina has held her own in this head-to-head matchup, but the tournament conditions favor Swiatek in a big way.

Defending champion Iga Swiatek has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Doha Open with a 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-4 win over Czech Linda Noskova. The second-seeded Swiatek will next play Elena Rybakina, who beat Rebecca Sramkova 7-6 (1),