Barbora Krejcikova defeated world number one Iga Swiatek 6-4, 6-2 to claim the Dubai WTA title yesterday.
For former French Open champion Krejcikova, ranked 30 in the world, it was a sixth career title.
The 27-year-old Czech snapped Swiatek’s six-match, 12-set winning streak with a 6-4, 6-2 result in one hour and 31 minutes, in front of a capacity crowd at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis stadium.
Krejcikova had also defeated second-ranked Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals and world number three 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 will move up to 16 in the rankings tomorrow.
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,” said Krejcikova, who also defeated Swiatek in the Ostrava final last October.
They are now 2-2 head-to-head in career meetings. “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,” she added.
A sharp-angled backhand from a nonchalant Krejcikova gave the Czech an opening service break that helped her to a 3-1 advantage. Swiatek retaliated, getting back on level terms, but her break for three-all kicked off a series of four consecutive games where neither player managed to hold serve.
Krejcikova finally bucked the trend, taking the last eight straight points of the set to claim a 6-4 lead in 44 minutes. It was the first set Swiatek has lost since her Australian Open fourth round defeat to Elena Rybakina last month.
The 21-year-old Pole won Doha last week and had barely lost any games across both tournaments in the Middle East this fortnight.
Swiatek took a toilet break between sets and had a brief argument with chair umpire Pierre Bacchi when she returned to the court, which eventually ended with her receiving a time violation for taking too long. Both players regained stability on serve early in the second set before Krejcikova found an opening and inched ahead 4-2. That cushion was all the 27-year-old needed to close out a remarkable victory.