Barbora Krejcikova showed her class after ousting Iga Swiatek in the Dubai final, calling the Pole “a big inspiration.” Krejcikova, who was unseeded in Dubai, upset top-seeded Swiatek 6-4 6-2 to win her first title of the year at a WTA 1000 event in Dubai.
Interestingly, this was Krejcikova’s first title since early October – when she also beat Swiatek in the Ostrava final. “It definitely means a lot. It was a great week for me, I was improving every single game & today I showed my best.
I have so much respect for Iga, to me she is a big inspiration, she motivates me every day. It was a great final & I’m happy with the result,” Krejcikova said of Swiatek, per Reem Abulleil.
Barbora Krejcikova: It definitely means a lot.
It was a great week for me, I was improving every single game & today I showed my best. I have so much respect for Iga, to me she is a big inspiration, she motivates me every day. It was a great final & I’m happy with the result.
— Reem Abulleil (@ReemAbulleil) February 25, 2023
Krejcikova knows how to play Swiatek in finals
After winning her first seven finals of the 2022 season, Swiatek was beaten by Krejcikova in the Ostrava final in October.
Four months later, Swiatek met Krejcikova again in a WTA final – again lost. Krejcikova came out playing fearless as she broke Swiatek in the very first game of the Dubai final. Swiatek got the break back in the sixth game but Krejcikova earned another break in the seventh game to open a 4-3 lead.
In the eighth game, Swiatek broke back Krejcikova for the second time to tie the first set to four games. However, blowing her first two breaks didn’t impact Krejcikova, who broke Swiatek again in the ninth game to open a 5-4 lead.
In the 10th game, Krejcikova served out to love to seal the first set. At the start of the second set, Swiatek had a chance to get an early break but Krejcikova saved two break points in the second game and two more break points in the fourth game.
After not realizing her early second-set break point chances, Swiatek’s game collapsed as Krejcikova claimed back-to-back breaks in the fifth and seventh games to complete a two-set win.
