Krejcikova, Siniakova win in Madrid for second title of the year

No.2 seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova dazzled in the Mutua Madrid Open doubles final, defeating No.3 seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Demi Schuurs, 6-4, 6-3, to claim the title on Saturday.

"We were aggressive, we were just playing really well," Siniakova said, after the victory. "This final was a little bit tricky because it was windy...but I think we were just trying to stay focused, fight every point, and we were good as a team."

The all-Czech pair clinched their seventh WTA doubles title as a team with the one-hour and 19-minute victory. It is their second title of the season after winning the Gippsland Trophy in Melbourne earlier in 2021. They were also finalists at the year's first major, the Australian Open.

After a first-round bye, former WTA Doubles World No.1s Krejcikova and Siniakova started their Madrid campaign with a whisker-thin win over Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula, but did not drop a set in their final three matches en route to the title. The Czechs also picked up their 100th tour-level match-win as a team during the week.

Overall, it's the 10th WTA doubles title for Siniakova, while Krejcikova now has eight WTA doubles titles to her credit.

The Czechs won over three-quarters of their first-service points in the encounter, and fired a stunning 22 winners to just nine unforced errors in the tilt.

"Of course [Dabrowski and Schuurs] are really good doubles players, so we were expecting them to go quickly to the net and try to cross," Siniakova said. "The beginning was a little bit strange because we were losing our serves, but I think we fought hard, and we found a little bit of the rhythm better than them. We were trying to be the first ones to be in the offense, and I think we did a pretty good job."

Dabrowski and Schuurs, who teamed up for the very first time this week, had a successful run to the final together. However, in the championship match, they won just 46 percent of points behind their first delivery in the final, and their 10 winners were undone by 12 unforced errors.

Nevertheless, the match started well for Dabrowski and Schuurs, as Dabrowski saved three break points in her first service game before the No.3 seeds broke Krejcikova to take an early 2-0 lead. But that only started a run of four consecutive service breaks in the match as the returners held sway in the opening stages.

The Czechs at last took charge midway through the set, as Krejcikova ended the run of breaks with a dominant love hold for 3-3, before a bevy of beautiful backhand return winners by Siniakova helped her squad clinch the decisive break for 4-3. The No.2 seeds held firm from there, with Siniakova punching back-to-back volley winners to close out the one-set lead.

In the second set, the 3-3 game was once again key for Krejcikova and Siniakova, as they broke there after a stirring forehand return winner down the line by Krejcikova. The Czechs attained a second break for good measure in the final game as they eased to another championship trophy.

"After the first set, all the pressure that we had got a little lower, and I think in the second set, we were pretty much controlling the match," Krejcikova said during her post-match interview.

"I think we are playing well on every surface," Krejcikova added. "The bigger tournaments that we [play], it’s more prestige, we just want to push ourselves to the limit and do our very, very best."