After winning in Doha, Iga Swiatek was ready to lift the trophy also in Dubai, but she was stopped by the 2021 Roland Garros champion, Barbora Krejcikova in the final.
The young Pole showed her dominance throughout the week but in the final, she faced an opponent that beat her in their only meeting last year. Krejcikova won one of the most beautiful matches of the last WTA season when she became the first player to beat Swiatek in a final in 2022.
At the 2023 Dubai Championships, she wanted to do the same thing, but world no. 1 seemed to be unstoppable. However, on her way to the final, the Czech player defeated the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Daria Kasatkina, and Jessica Pegula, and there was no doubt that she could beat the three-time major winner.
Krejcikova started in the best way possible when she broke her opponent's serve in the first game. Despite being broken back in the sixth game, she managed to break back as the same thing repeated in the next two game.
After winning eight rallies in a row, Krejcikova won the first set 6-4 and became the first player to win a set against Swiatek since Elena Rybakina beat her in Melbourne.
Former world no. 2 didn't stop in the second set as she faced four break points but saved all of them. Moreover, she used two out of three chances that she had to break her opponent.
After an hour and 32 minutes, she beat Swiatek 6-4, 6-2 to win her first title of the 2023 season. Krejcikova will also make a significant move in the WTA Rankings as she's projected to jump to 16th place, between her compatriots Petra Kvitova and Karolina Pliskova.
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