Czech tennis player Barbora Krejčíková at the tournament in Dubai, February 24, 2023.
Doha/Dubai/Mérida/Rio de Janeiro – Barbora Krejčíková defeated world number three American Jessica Pegula 6:1, 5:7, 6:0 at the tennis tournament in Dubai and will play for the first title of the season. Jiří Lehečka will not play in the first final of his career in Dubai, when he failed to convert five match points in the duel with Briton Andy Murray and lost 0:6, 6:3 and 6:7. Kateřina Siniaková advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time this season at the tournament in Mérida.
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Photo gallery: Tennis tournaments 2023
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Two-time winner of last year's Roland Garros Krejčíková dominated the duel in more than two hours. For the sixth title on the WTA circuit, Krejčíková will face the world number one player from Poland, Iga Šwiateková, who eliminated another American, Cori Gauffová, after winning 6:4, 6:2.
Twenty-seven-year-old Krejčíková avenged Pegulaová's January elimination in the round of 16 of the Australian Open in the second match between them. The tennis player from Ivančice followed up on her previous triumph over world number two Aryna Sabalenkova of Belarus in Dubai, previously she also defeated compatriot Petra Kvitova and Russian world number eight player Darja Kasatkina.
Krejčíková will face Šwiateková for the fourth time in her career. She has a record of 1:2 with the 21-year-old Polish woman, but she was last successful in the final of the tournament in Ostrava last October.
“It's always great to play against the best in the world and she was the absolute best last year and she's the best now,” Krejčíková was quoted as saying by the WTA website. “She's playing great, so at least I'll find out how I'm doing. I'm looking forward to it and I think it will be a great final,” added the Czech tennis player.
World number 30 Krejčíková had an excellent start against Pegulaová. From 1:1, she won five games in the first set and took the lead after 29 minutes of play.
Twenty-nine-year-old Pegulaová, who advanced to the semifinals without a fight over Karolina Muchová, improved in the second set and took a 5-3 lead thanks to a break in the eighth game. The American did not use two set points after that, but at the end of the set she took Krejčíková's serve one more time and leveled the duel.
But Krejčíková clearly controlled the decisive third set. The opponent took all three serves and gave her a canary in twenty-seven minutes. Krejčíková advanced to the final in the United Arab Emirates after two years. In 2021, she was not enough against the Spaniard Garbiňa Muguruza in the decisive duel.
“The second set didn't work for me, but I felt good,” said Krejčíková. “I always knew I had a great chance and I gave it my all. It was necessary against Jessica, she's a great player and I'm really happy that I won,” she added.
Lehečka got the canary, he did not use five match points and did not reach the first final in Doha
Twenty-one-year-old Czech tennis player Jiří Lehečka will not play in the first final of his career in Dubai. At the beginning of the semi-finals, he received a canary from the former world number one Andy Murray from Great Britain, but he still reached for victory, but he did not convert five match points and lost 0:6, 6:3 and 6:7.
Leheček did not manage the first set at all and he lost to the three-time Grand Slam champion in 33 minutes. However, the Czech player entered the second set as a substitute, built up a 4:1 lead and equalized without difficulty.
In the decisive set, Leheček used a break point to make it 2:1, but then he did not hold serve himself and Murray equalized. However, the Czech player was not deterred and immediately took the opponent's serve, took the lead 3:2 and it looked like he was heading for the promotion.
But even five match points were not enough for Leheček to advance. He didn't use the first two on his opponent's serve at 5:3, he had the other three on his own serve at 5:4, when he even led 40:0. But Murray was able to equalize and take the lead 6:5.
“I knew that he was serving for the first time to advance to the final, so I tried to put him under pressure. I know very well how difficult it is to serve such matches. But to be honest, I have no idea how I managed to turn it around. But it was one of of my biggest turnovers in my career,” said Murray on the ATP website.
Lehečka finally forced a tie-break, in which he turned from 1:3 to 4:3, but the finish belonged to the experienced opponent. The Czech talent saved the first match point at 5:6, but then he did not hold his serve and Murray won the shortened game for himself with a score of 8:6.
Murray, who is ranked 70th after a long illness, will play for his first title since 2019 against the winner of the duel between Russia's Daniil Medvedev and Canada's Félix Auger-Aliassim. In addition, he is awaiting a record fifth final in Doha, having won the title in 2008 and 2009.
Siniaková advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time this season in Mérida
Tennis player Kateřina Siniaková advanced to the tournament in Mérida for the first time in season to the quarterfinals. The fourth seeded Czech player defeated Ysaline Bonaventure from Belgium 6:0, 7:5 in the 2nd round and will face Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretta in Mexico to advance to the semi-finals.
World No. 1 in doubles Siniakov last played in the quarterfinals and semifinals of singles on the WTA circuit last September in Portorož. In Slovenia, the 26-year-old Czech eventually won the third singles title of her career.
Against Bonaventure, she performed flawlessly in the opening set, while her opponent was unable to establish herself at all. Siniaková won all fifteens in the opening four games and did not lose a single one on her serve for the entire set. In the second set, the game was even. The Belgian reacted to the first loss of serve, and Siniaková confirmed the second break at 6:5 with a clean game.
Siniakov will face Cocciaretto for the second time in her career, she lost the first match against the Italian last year in Budapest.
Alcaraz advanced to the semifinals in Rio de Janeiro after a three-hour battle with Fognini
Tennis player Carlos Alcaraz came one step closer to defending last year's title at the tournament in Rio de Janeiro. The 19-year-old Spaniard defeated Italian Fabio Fognini 6:7, 6:2, 6:4 in an attractive quarterfinal duel after an almost three-hour battle for 16 years his senior. His next opponent will be Serbian Dušan Lajovič.
“It was a really tough match. Fabio and I played excellently, great 15ths, great shots,” praised Alcaraz after the match, in which both players excited the audience with their performances from the seats. “It's amazing to play such matches. I'd say we both gave almost 100 percent,” he added.
Alcaraz, who entered the season late due to an abdominal muscle injury and lost his world number one spot, won his sixth match of the year and can win his second trophy of the year. Last week, he dominated the tournament in Buenos Aires in his first start after returning after a break of more than three months.
Results of tennis tournaments:
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Dubai Women's Tournament
(hard surface, $2,788,468 endowment):
Singles – semi-finals:
Krejčíková (Czech Republic) – Pegulaová (3-USA) 6:1, 5:7, 6:0, Šwiateková (1-Pol .) – Gauff (5-USA) 6:4, 6:2.
Men's tournament in Rio de Janeiro
(clay, subsidy $2,178,980):
Singles – 2nd round:
Alcaraz (1-Sp.) – Fognini (It .) 6:7 (5:7), 6:2, 6:4, Báez (6-Arg.) – Varillas (Peru) 7:5, 7:6 (8:6), Lajovič – Djere (both Serb .) 6:2, 6:4.
Men's tournament in Doha
(hard surface, subsidy 1,485,775 dollars):
Singles – semi-finals:
Murray (Britain) – Lehečka (CZ) 6:0, 3:6, 7:6 (8:6).
Women's tournament in Mérida, Mexico
(hard surface, subsidy $259,303):
Singles – 2nd round:
Siniaková (4-Czech Republic) – Bonaventure (Belg.) 6:0, 7:5, Linette (1-Pol.) – Udvardy (Germany) 6:0, 2:5 scratch, Stephens (2-USA) – Gračova (Russia) 5:7, 6:2, 7:6 (7:5), Peterson (Sweden) – Parks (5-USA) 6:4, 6:2.
< strong>Doubles – quarterfinals:
Wu Fang-Hsien, Wang Sin-yü (Taiwan/China) – Detiucová, Hozumiová (3-CR/Japan) 6:3, 6 :4.
