Barbora Krejcikova, 27, has joined an exclusive list that features Serena Williams as she is the fifth female player to beat all three top-3 players en route to winning a title, per OptaAce. At a WTA 1000 event in Dubai, Krejcikova’s run to the title included wins over world No 1 Iga Swiatek, world No 2 Aryna Sabalenka and third-ranked Jessica Pegula.
On Saturday, Krejcikova upset first-seeded Swiatek in the Dubai final 6-4 6-2. Now, Krejcikova has joined the list that features Serena and Venus Williams, Sabalenka and Steffi Graf.
5 – Barbora Krejcikova is the 5th female player to win v #1, #2 and #3 in a tournament in the last 40 years after A.
Sabalenka at the WTA Finals 2022, V. Williams at the WTA Finals 2008, S. Williams in Miami 2002 and S. Graf at the Roland Garros 1999. Collect.@WTA | #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/QwrC0HMoqV — OptaAce (@OptaAce) February 25, 2023
Krejcikova’s run to the Dubai title also included wins over world No 15 Daria Kasatkina and 15th-ranked Petra Kvitova.
Krejcikova ‘did not expect’ to do well when she arrived in Dubai
Krejcikova’s Middle East swing didn’t really get off to a positive start. In early February, Krejcikova suffered a 7-5 7-6 (6) loss to Liudmila Samsonova in the Abu Dhabi round-of-16.
After suffering a tight loss in Abu…
