Canada's Victoria Mboko (R) is congratulated by Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina after winning their women's singles quarter-final match at the Qatar Open tennis tournament in Doha on Thursday. — AFP DOHA, Feb 12 (AFP): World number two Iga Swiatek and Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina both crashed out of the Qatar Open on Thursday losing their quarter-finals to Maria Sakkari and Victoria Mboko respectively.
Top seed Swiatek fell short against a revitalised Sakkari who rolled back the years as she clawed her way to a nervy 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory while 10th seed Mboko outmuscled Rybakina 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.
"It's been a while since I had a big win like today," said Sakkari, who reached No. 3 in the rankings in 2022 but has slipped to 52nd.
"When you drop in the rankings and you're not playing good tennis you start doubting yourself and you think you are never going to beat those players again.
"So it's a huge process you have to go through in your head that you can do it."
The 30-year-old Greek won her first three career meetings with the young Swiatek but the last of those victories came in 2021.
The Pole had won their last four matches, the most recent in straight sets in Qatar last year.
"Last year in the second round here against her, I was not confident, I was not believing in myself and this year it's different. I feel a lot better," said Sakkari who will now face 14th seed Karolina Muchova who saw off the unseeded Russian Anna Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-4.
"I've missed that feeling of going deep into tournaments."
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