Barbora Krejcikova on Saturday defeated Iga Swiatek to claim the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships women’s singles title, becoming just the fourth woman this century to defeat the top three players in the world at the same tournament
For former French Open champion Krejcikova, ranked No. 30 in the world, it was a sixth career title.
The 27-year-old Czech snapped world No. 1 Swiatek’s six-match, 12-set winning streak with a 6-4, 6-2 victory in 1 hour, 31 minutes, in front of a capacity crowd at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium.
Photo: AFP
Krejcikova had also defeated second-ranked Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals and world No. 3 Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals.
Only Venus Williams, Serena Williams and Sabalenka have managed to beat all top three players in a single tournament in the 2000s.
“It’s a huge achievement, what I was able to do this week. I was really enjoying all the matches, I definitely love playing on the big courts,” said Krejcikova, who moves up to 16 in the rankings today.
It was a week of great escapes from Krejcikova — who saved four match points against an eighth-ranked Daria Kasatkina in the second round, and rallied back from 0-6, 1-3 down in her quarter-final against Sabalenka.
“This title definitely means a lot. It was a great week for me, I was improving every single game and today I showed my best,” Krejcikova said.
“I have so much respect for Iga, to me she is a big inspiration, she motivates me every day. It was a great final, and I’m definitely happy with the result,” Krejcikova added.
Swiatek lost a WTA 1000 final for the first time in her career. She had won all five that she had contested coming in.
“I’m pretty sure we’re going to have many finals, but hopefully next time it’s going to go my way, because the last two went for you,” Swiatek told Krejcikova after congratulating the Czech during the trophy ceremony.
In the women’s doubles final, Taiwanese sisters Latisha Chan and Chan Hao-ching finished second after losing to Russians Veronika Kudermetova and Liudmila Samsonova 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 1-10.
Kudermetova and Samsonova saved seven of eight break points to win the first set. The Taiwanese duo then rallied in the second set to save seven of eight break points, forcing a third set.
However, Kudermetova and Samsonova shot ahead, winning the third set 10-1 in a match that lasted 2 hours, 4 minutes.
Additional reporting by CNA, with staff writer
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
Italian Luca de Aliprandini described Saturday’s World Cup giant slalom at Val d’Isere as the hardest race of his life, coming two days after his Swiss partner Michelle Gisin suffered a heavy fall in training which required neck surgery. De Aliprandini finished 26th in the men’s event won by Loic Meillard, but the result paled into insignificance with two-time Olympic ski champion Gisin in hospital with injuries to her wrist, knee and cervical spine (neck). “It was Michelle’s wish that I race here. I couldn’t say no to her, but it was the toughest race of my entire life,” an emotional De
TOP OF THE TABLE: Evann Guessand put the visitors ahead early in the game and Flavius Daniliuc equalized before Youri Tielemans got the winner in the second half Aston Villa on Thursday extended their winning streak to eight games in all competitions with a 2-1 victory against Basel in the UEFA Europa League to secure at least a playoff spot. Villa were tied with Olympique Lyonnais, who beat Go Ahead Eagles 2-1, and Midtjylland, 1-0 winners over Genk, atop the standings of the second-tier European competition on 15 points with five wins from six games. They have bounced back from a poor start to the season and are third in the Premier League, including a 2-1 victory over leaders Arsenal on Saturday. At St Jakob-Park in Basel, summer signing Evann Guessand
RSS