Krejcikova rolls over Jessica Pegula to set up final clash with Swiatek at Dubai 1000
Barbora Krejcikova was in exceptional form against Jessica Pegula, beating the in-form American 6-1 5-7 6-0 to reach the Dubai 1000 final.
Finalist 2021 🤝 2023@BKrejcikova takes out the No.3 seed Pegula to reach the @DDFTennis final once again! pic.twitter.com/0CFuKwST2T
— wta (@WTA) February 24, 2023
The Czech was so good in the first set, winning in a comfortable 6-1. With Pegula broke serving for the second set, Krejcikova lost steam but found her level again at the right time.
Pegula couldn't close out the second set at 5-3 but broke to take it 7-5 and force a third and deciding set.
Krejcikova got her rhythm again in the third set, shattering Pegula's dream of a final place with an effortless 6-0 victory.
She will now face top seed Iga Swiatek in the final, with the latter having an edge of 2-1 in their head-to-head matches. But Krejcikova won their last clash at the Ostrava Open final last year.
Incredible stats for Krejcikova in the WTA (via OPTA)
1 - She became the first player since Svetlana Kuznetsova in Cincinnati 2019 to win two matches in a single WTA-1000 tournament against top-3 opponents (No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinal and No. 3 Jessica Pegula in the semifinal).
2 - She made her tenth career top-10 win. Three have been at the Dubai Tennis Championships (against Daria Kasakitna in Round 2, Sabalenka in the quarterfinals, and Pegula in the semifinals).