Barbora Krejcikova defeats Iga Swiatek to win Dubai title

• Barbora Krejcikova completed her dream week on Saturday night as she defeated Iga Swiatek to win the Dubai Tennis Championship final
• She is expected to climb from 30th to 16th when the rankings are updated on Monday

Barbora Krejcikova capped a fine run in Dubai as she defeated world No 1 Iga Swiatek in straight sets to win the Dubai Tennis Championship final.

It was Barbora’s first title of the 2023 season and sixth overall. She is expected to climb from 30th to 16th when the rankings are updated on Monday. The Czech became just the fifth player in history to defeat the top three in the world at one event.

Barbora Krejcikova. Photo/ Tennis.com.

She reached the final after defeating United States’ Jessica Pegula 6-1 5-7 6-0 in the semi-finals. Pegula is ranked No. 3 in the world. Barbora had earlier defeated Belarusian world No 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals.

The only other players who have defeated the top three in the world at a single event are Steffi Graf, Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Aryna Sabalenka.

Speaking after winning the Dubai Tennis Championship final, Barbora Krejcikova said that she was happy with the results.

“It means a lot. It was a great week and I was improving in every game. Today I showed my best tennis. Iga motivates me every day, it was a great final and I’m definitely happy with the result. It’s a huge achievement. I was enjoying all the matches and I love playing on big courts with the great atmosphere. I hope there’s going to be more matches like this for me.” Sky Sports quotes Barbora Krejcikova.

Barbora Krejcikova started the game well, breaking in the first game with a searing crosscourt backhand winner. She kept on the pressure to go 3-1 but Iga Swiatek was not letting it go easily as she levelled the game at 3-3.

Swiatek began to fade and her opponent took control again, breaking her twice in succession. Barbora held firm to wrap up the opening set when the Pole sent a forehand long. The 27-year-old was on a 15-match winning streak after claiming the first set. Meanwhile, it was the first set that Iga had dropped in the past two weeks.

Iga Swiatek was handed a time violation in the break between sets. Despite protesting that she had only been warned shortly before exceeding the maximum time, the violation still stood. This was like adding insult to illness to the Poland international.

However, the off-court issues did not stop Iga from winning the first game of the second set. Barbora would save break point in the next game to hold and level the set. She took the next two games and was already on the verge of winning the Dubai Tennis Championship final.

What followed was a fantastic rally and Barbora got the winner. At this time she was just one game away from the title, and she was going for it. Iga Swiatek managed just one point as Barbora served out the game to win the championship.

Barbora Krejcikova is the first woman to beat Iga Swiatek twice as No. 1. Photo/ Eurosport.