The 2017 Qatar Total Open witnesses the movement of the WTA Tour from Taiwan and Russia to the capital of Qatar in Doha. Four of the world’s top-10 players feature in the tournament with top seed and world No. 2 Angelique Kerber headlining the field.
The competition in the 28-player main draw begins on Monday, February 13.
Event Details
Event: Qatar Total Open
Category: WTA Premier Level
Date: February 13-18, 2017
Location: Khalifa International Tennis Complex – Doha, Qatar
With a prize money allotment of $776,000, this is an attractive tournament to play in, especially for the top four seeds which get a bye into the second round and even more guaranteed cash. It’s also an event placed right in between the Australian Open and Indian Wells, two of the bigger hardcourt events of the young season. Good hardcourt players want to test themselves to measure their games.
Points
Champion – 470
Runner-up – 305
Semifinal – 185
Quarterfinal – 100
Round of 16 – 55
Former Champions and Results
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2016: Carla Suarez Navarro def. Jelena Ostapenko 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
2015: Lucie Safarova def. Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-3
2014: Simona Halep def. Angelique Kerber 6-2, 6-3
2013: Victoria Azarenka def. Serena Williams 7-6(8-6), 2-6, 6-3
2012: Victoria Azarenka def. Samantha Stosur 6-1, 6-2
Player Info:
Angelique Kerber came to Australia as the defending champion with a lot of hope. She was the world’s best player, at least on paper. However, she never looked convincing in her stay in Melbourne. She never played like a contender and was predictably dumped by CoCo Vandeweghe in straights sets in the fourth round. Kerber hasn’t won a title since reaching the top of the rankings. Even more baffling is her record against top-50 players in that period– only five wins from 12 matches.
Now with the No. 1 ranking gone, she can play freely. How she conducts herself after her dethroning remains to be seen. Qatar will give us a clear indication of whether she’ll recede or take another step toward regaining her No. 1 ranking. How she responds in this tournament will set the tone for the rest of her season, so hopefully she bounces back in a strong way.
Karolina Pliskova has always had the tools to succeed at the highest level. In that sense, her ascension to No. 3 in the WTA rankings is hardly surprising. Since her amazing run to the U.S. Open final last year, Pliskova has become more consistent and also a legitimate contender wherever she plays. The tall Czech stormed her way to the Brisbane title but ran into red hot Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who halted her Melbourne dream in the quarterfinals. Among the players participating in Doha, Pliskova is the most in form player. Anything short of the final will be deemed a disappointment.
Garbine Muguruza’s French Open victory shocked everybody, but even more shocking is her title drought since that colossal win. Muguruza quietly made the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, indicating she is not to be forgotten. She comes to Doha with some wins under her belt and that should make her confident to go deep in the tournament. She hasn’t been much of a threat recently, so if you’re betting this event, she’s not the type of player that you want to take a flier on. There are better options.
Johanna Konta has a game which doesn’t look like it would disturb top opponents, but it does. The Brit started the year by romping to the title in Sydney. Konta was so dominant in Sydney that she didn’t drop a set. In Melbourne, she thrashed Caroline Wozniacki like she was nobody. Unfortunately, Konta couldn’t defend her semifinal points and went down to Serena Williams in a highly anticipated quarterfinal clash. She has quickly developed into a solid top-10 player, but if she aspires to move higher up in the rankings, she’ll have to beat top players on a consistent basis.
Khalifa International Tennis Complex
The Khalifa International Tennis Complex opened in 1992 and was then enlarged in 2008 to meet growing demands on its capacities. The facility includes 27 courts with a stadium court showpiece seating roughly 4,100 people. It has hosted the year-end WTA Tour Championship earlier in this century and is one of the more notable tennis venues in the Middle East.
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