Aryna Sabalenka loses at Qatar Open, leaves door open for top spot contenders

The world No 1 was rocked onto the ropes by Keys in a compelling contest in Melbourne last month and will have spent the last few weeks getting over the disappointment of that defeat.

Now she has tasted defeat once again, with Alexandrova sealing a 3-6 6-3 7-6(5) win against Sabalenka.

"It took a lot of energy and focus and it was a very difficult match to play against her because she's a fighter and she plays every single point no matter what," said Alexandrova.

"I tried to do my best. I told myself before the match: 'You just need to do the maximum you can tonight and if you lose at least you tried everything.' I'm glad it worked out because it feels amazing right now."

Sabalenka's surprise loss will not threaten her position as world No 1 at the end of this tournament in Qatar, but a change at the top of the world rankings may be hastened by this setback.

With 1000 ranking points up for grabs in one of the prestige events on the WTA Tour, world No 2 Iga Swiatek now has a big chance to eat into Sabalenka's rankings lead by winning the Qatar Open.

Swiatek will get to within 186 points of Sabalenka if she goes onto win the Qatar Open and on a day when Coco Guaff also suffered a shock defeat, the Pole is now the firm favourite to win in Doha.

This was a day of shocks as Marta Kostyuk beat Gauff 6-2 7-5 victory over the tournament's third seed and will meet Magda Linette in the next round.

It was one of those days of inconsistency for Gauff as she made 39 unforced errors and hit just eight winners, with Kostyuk clinching victory after the 2023 US Open champion hit back-to-back double faults.

"Coco is an incredible fighter. We always have incredible matches. I tried to stick to what I had to do. I'm very happy it worked out in two sets," said Kostyuk.

Ons Jabeur also pulled off an impressive victory after beating seventh seed Qinwen Zheng, with Swiatek now the big favourite to lift the title after she started her campaign with a solid win against Maria Sakkari.

There was a further shock as Amanda Anisimova secured a convincing win against world No 10 Paula Badosa.

Swiatek spoke about the different emotions of playing as the world No 2 as opposed to the No 1 she held for so long and suggested it does lighten the load of pressure.

"It is a bit less pressure," she said. "Honestly, I try not to look at the rankings, even when I was No 1.

"I guess, you know, heavy is the head that wears the crown, so mine was heavy for a long time, and for sure I'll be fighting now to get back to No 1, but I wouldn't say it matters, you know, during the tournaments.

"Me and Aryna are both great players and doesn't matter, honestly, which number is next to our names."

Swiatek in a three-time champion in Doha, but insists that impressive record is not significant this year.

"It doesn't matter like my history on a tournament, I always kind of try to play my best game and try to win it," she added.

"I try also not to kind of lean on these previous performances too much because I know that every area is a different story.

"It's not like it's next week, it's like the whole year has passed, so, you know, many different situations and many obstacles we had to go through.

"I don't compare them, you know, but for sure it's nice to come back to the place where you know you can play your tennis and you've been through some tough moments, some nice moments.

"You kind of found the solutions because you were able to play well before, so just try to use the experience, but not really like focusing much on the past because every tournament is a different story." 

READ MORE: Pieter du Preez reflects on Paralympic success and national pride