Barbora Krejcikova came back from a set and a break down to pull off a 0-6, 7-6(2), 6-1 win over World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships quarterfinals on Thursday. It was Sabalenka's first loss of the year.
"I was just fighting," Krejcikova said afterward. "There's not really much you can change because she plays well, she serves well, she hits really hard. I was just trying to get to her pace, just try to, I don't know, maybe be a little more aggressive because otherwise it's difficult to do something else."
Here are some key numbers from Krejcikova’s victory:
13-1: Krejcikova, a 2021 Dubai finalist, put an end to reigning Australian Open champion Sabalenka’s undefeated season in just under two hours, knocking Sabalenka’s win-loss record to 13-1. Sabalenka had also started this year 27-2 in sets, including the first set on Thursday.
1: It is also Krejcikova’s first win in three tries against fellow Grand Slam champion Sabalenka, who had previously defeated Krejcikova in the 2020 Linz semifinals and the 2021 US Open quarterfinals.
2: This marks Krejcikova’s second career win against a player ranked inside the Top 2 at the time of their meeting. Her first came over World No.1 Iga Swiatek in last year’s Ostrava final.
Down 0-6, 1-3...@BKrejcikova just needed a few 'funny words' from her Czech fans! 🤭 🇨🇿#DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/p9ggWmkXSG
— wta (@WTA) February 23, 2023
30: The match started well for Sabalenka, who needed exactly 30 minutes to sweep through the opening set, where she had nine winners to five unforced errors.
By contrast, Krejcikova’s three winners were undone by 10 unforced errors in the opening frame, and she was 0-for-2 on break points.
60%: But Krejcikova amped up her forecourt skills to stay close in the second set, despite initially falling behind 3-1. Krejcikova won 60 percent of points returning the Sabalenka second service in that set, dragging it into a tiebreak.
In the breaker, that return pressure led to two straight double faults by Sabalenka, giving Krejcikova a 4-1 lead. The Czech took charge from there, slamming a backhand winner on her second set point to level the match.
"I think I broke her at some point [in the second set]," Krejcikova said. "I think from there I just loosened up a little bit more. I just started to feel my shots a little bit better. I felt that I was getting in control."
10: Krejcikova was on a mission in the final set, where she had 10 winners to Sabalenka's six. Krejcikova won the last five games of the match, improving her career win-loss record at Dubai to 10-2.
2015 - Barbora Krejcikova became the first player to win a WTA-1000 quarterfinal after having lost the opening set with a 6-0 scoreline since Timea Bacsinszky in Beijing 2015 against Sara Errani. Overturn.@WTA @WTA_insider @DDFTennis | #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/oXwD6LIFhM
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) February 23, 2023
108: Krejcikova has hit 108 winners this week in Dubai, the most of any player.
1: There will be a first-time Dubai champion this year -- in fact, Krejcikova is the only one of the semifinalists who has previously reached the Dubai final. Krejcikova made the final in 2021 when she was ranked just World No.63.
0-1: 2021 Roland Garros champion Krejcikova will meet No.3 seed Jessica Pegula in the semifinals. Pegula advanced to the final four after Karolina Muchova withdrew from their quarterfinal match with an abdominal injury.
Krejcikova and Pegula faced off for the first time in singles just this year, with Pegula notching a 7-5, 6-2 win in the Round of 16 at the Australian Open.
"I'm looking forward for the revenge because in Australia I lost to her," Krejcikova said. "I definitely want to just go there again and just enjoy the match, just fight for every single ball. If I'm able to do that, I think I definitely have a chance."