Aryna Sabalenka vs Ekaterina Alexandrova Tips, Prediction & Live Stream - In-form Alexandrova can trouble top seed in Doha

Sabalenka suffered a heartbreaking loss in the Australian Open final last month as she went for a historic three-peat down under and it remains to be seen how that defeat will affect her going forward in 2025. What I do know is that Alexandrova is a tricky first match back for the top seed - the Russian is coming off a title in Linz earlier this month and has beaten Sabalenka three times before, while she also took a set off her at the US Open last year. All things considered, Alexandrova would fancy her chances of troubling Sabalenka again in Doha, so I'm backing Over 19.5 total games, with the World No. 1 edging it in three.

As mentioned, Alexandrova has enjoyed success in this matchup in the past, but Sabalenka still leads 4-3, prevailing in three sets in their most-recent encounter at the 2024 US Open.

Sabalenka established herself as the undisputed World No. 1 during the back-half of 2024, winning titles at the US Open, Cincinnati and Wuhan.

The Belarusian started 2025 with a bang, winning her 18th career title at the Brisbane International before turning her attention to Melbourne.

It was looking like another dominant run at the Australian Open, but Sabalenka ran into a red-hot Madison Keys in the final. Still, all that separated the pair was a loose final game in the title match, which saw Keys prevail 7-5 in the decider.

Sabalenka has a 7-2 record in Doha, winning the title on her debut at the event five years ago.

Alexandrova always runs hot and cold and right now, the Russian is hot.

It was a disappointing Australian swing for Alexandrova - she registered a 1-3 record, suffering an opening round loss at the Australian Open to Emma Raducanu.

However, Alexandrova bounced back strongly, defeating the likes of Karolina Muchova and Dayana Yastremska to secure the title indoors in Linz, while she didn't have to wait long to avenge her AO loss to Raducanu, defeating the Brit 6-3 7-5 to launch her Doha campaign earlier this week.

That means Alexandrova brings a five-match winning streak into this highly-anticipated Doha showdown with the World No. 1.