American Amanda Anisimova outlasted Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in a very physical, high-quality three-set quarterfinal at the 2025 Qatar TotalEnergies Open where she was forced to dig deep and come from behind after dropping the first set.
Leaving it all on the court 😤@AnisimovaAmanda dials it in to complete the comeback over Kostyuk 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 to reach the semifinals in Doha!#QatarTotalEnergiesOpen pic.twitter.com/gsuxMxUIeY
— wta (@WTA) February 13, 2025
With the victory, Anisimova advances to her second career WTA 1000-level semifinal; her first was in Toronto in 2024. She is the last American remaining in the draw. She will face the red-hot Ekaterina Alexandrova who knocked off Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals and World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in a previous round. Alexandrova won the Linz title last week and is playing some of the best tennis of her career.
The other semifinal will be between three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek and Jelena Ostapenko. Swiatek defeated Elena Rybakina in straight sets, and Ostapenko took out fan-favorite Ons Jabeur in straight sets to book their spots in the semifinal. Ostapenko has never lost to Swiatek in four previous meetings.
Amanda Anisimova vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova Doha Rematch
Anisimova faced Alexandrova one previous time in 2020 also in Doha. It was a straight-set victory for Anisimova decided by a second-set tiebreaker.
Amanda Anisimova is 23 years old but has gone through a lot on and off the tennis court. She dealt with the sudden death of her father shortly before the US Open in 2019. Anisimova has overcome injuries and mental health issues, the latter of which caused her to take a break from tennis in 2022. During that time, she took college courses and enjoyed life away from tennis. When she returned, she vowed to enjoy the game more, regardless of the results.
Anisimova has put in the hard work, and she looked emotionally and physically spent after the Kostyuk match. Both players performed well, but Anismova played the bigger points better. This was the most entertaining and competitive quarterfinal of the day.
