World No. 30 Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic fought back from the brink to mastermind the biggest upset of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship, stunning Australian Open champion and second seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus. Krejcikova, who stunned her idol and World No 13 Petra Kvitova the previous day, won 0-6, 7-6, 6-1 on Thursday.
The 2021 French Open winner will meet Jessica Pegula of the United States in the semifinal. Pegula received a walkover from Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic, who suffered an abdominal injury. In the other semifinal, Coco Gauff of the United States will face off against top seed Iga Swiatek of Poland. Fifth seeded Gauff earlier defeated fellow American Madison Keys 6-2, 7-5.
Sabalenka came into the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai as one of the hot favourites, and her 13-match win streak lent her an aura of invincibility. The escape act against the defending champion Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in the Round of 16 only served to burnish her reputation.
In every match, you get a chance. I just felt like I should keep going, keep trying to play your game, wait for the chance, and then try to convert it.
There were no early jitters on Thursday as the Belarusian hurried to wrap up the first set in 29 minutes without dropping a game. The pattern continued in the second, with Sabalenka firing winners on either flank with power and precision.
Krejicikova looked down and out, given Sabalenka’s imperious form. But she decided to fight. “Just go for it, just fight, just don’t leave without a fight. I felt that I’m going to get some chances. In every match, you get a chance. I just felt like I should keep going, keep trying to play your game, wait for the chance, and then try to convert it. That was what I told myself,” the Czech told reporters after the match.
How Krejcikova turned around the match
Krejcikova was staring down the barrel when she was a set down and 1-3 in the second set. From there, the World No. 30 conjured the biggest shock of the tournament.
Her chance came in the middle of the second set when Krejcikova broke Sabalenka to put the match on an even keel. “From there, I just loosened up a bit more. I just started to feel my shots a little better. I felt that I was getting control,” Krejcikova said, paying tribute to the handful of Czech fans who provided vociferous support in the Dubai Tennis Stadium.
I was just fighting. There’s not much you can change because she [Sabalenka] plays well, serves well, and hits really hard. I was just trying to get to her pace.
Initially, Krejcikova was content to keep the ball in play before finding ways to beat the flailing racquet of Sabalenka. Her attempts to hustle at the net too paid dividends. The Czech broke back and pushed the second set into the tiebreaker, which she won 7-2 unfurling an array of groundstrokes.
By then, the wind seemed to have gone out of Sabalenka’s sails as more errors crept into her game. Krejcikova broke Sabalenka in the fourth and sixth games to run up a 5-1 and serve for the match. The Belarusian saved two match points, but it was a bridge too far.
Looking back at the match, Krejcikova said: “I was just fighting. There’s not much you can change because she [Sabalenka] plays well, serves well, and hits really hard. I was just trying to get to her pace; just try to be a little more aggressive because otherwise, it’s difficult.”
Ahead of the quarterfinal, Krejcikova and her coach put together a strategy. “I was watching the Australian Open final. She [Sabalenka] was playing amazingly. I expected it to be really difficult. But then, on the other hand, I felt like I have a belief that I can play with these girls, the best ones. I also believe that I can beat them. I was just looking for the chance,” Krejcikova said.
When the chance came, the Czech grabbed it with both hands.
