Tennis: Barbora Krejcikova surprises the no. 1 Iga Swiatek wins the WTA title from Dubai

Barbora Krejcikova defeated Iga Swiatek to win the WTA title from Dubai on Saturday, becoming the fourth woman this century to defeat the top three players in the world at the same tournament. For former Roland-Garros champion Krejcikova, ranked 30th in the world, it was her sixth career title.

The 27-year-old Czech snapped world number one Swiatek’s six-game winning streak 6-4, 6-2 in an hour and 31 minutes, in front of a huge crowd at Dubai Duty Free Tennis. stadium. Krejcikova had also beaten second Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals and world number three Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals.

Only Venus Williams, Serena Williams and Sabalenka managed to beat the top three players in a single tournament in the 2000s.

“It’s a huge feat, what I was able to do this week. I really enjoyed all the games, I really like playing on the big pitches,” said Krejcikova, who will drop to 16th in the standings on Monday.

It was a week of big escapes for Krejcikova – who saved four match points against eighth seed Daria Kasatkina in the second round and rallied 0-6, 1-3 in the quarter-final against Sabalenka.

“This title really means a lot. It was a great week for me, I got better with every game and today I gave my best,” said Krejcikova, who also beat Swiatek in the final. Ostrava last October.

They are now 2-2 head to head in career meetings.

“I have so much respect for Iga, for me she is a big inspiration, she motivates me every day. It was a great final and I’m definitely happy with the result,” she added.

A sharp angled backhand from a nonchalant Krejcikova gave the Czech a first break of serve that helped her take a 3-1 lead.

Swiatek fought back, returning to terms, but his break for three-all kicked off a four-game streak where neither player was able to hold serve.

Krejcikova eventually bucked the trend, taking the last eight straight points of the set to take a 6-4 lead in 44 minutes. It was the first set Swiatek has dropped since losing the Australian Open fourth round to Elena Rybakina last month.

The 21-year-old Pole won Doha last week and reached Saturday’s final after losing just 14 games in six matches in the Gulf.

Swiatek took a toilet break between sets and had a brief argument with chair umpire Pierre Bacchi when she returned to the court, which ultimately ended in a time violation for taking too long . .

Both players found stability on serve at the start of the second set before Krejcikova found an opening and advanced 4-2. That cushion was all the 27-year-old needed to wrap up a remarkable win and clinch the sixth singles title of her career.

Swiatek lost a WTA 1000 Final for the first time in his career. She had won all five she had previously contested.

“I’m pretty sure we’ll have many finals, but hopefully next time it will go my way, because the last two went for you,” Swiatek told Krejcikova after congratulating the Czech during the award ceremony.

“Sorry for my team. I’m sure we’ll have a lot more, we’ll keep working.