Barbora Krejcikova joins Serena Williams on unique list with impressive Dubai triumph

• Tennis News
• Serena Williams

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 Dhabi, Krejcikova experienced the same in Doha as she was edged out 6-4 3-6 7-6 (5) by Veronika Kudermetova in her Doha opener. Following two heartbreaking losses in Abu Dhabi and Doha, Krejcikova didn't come to Dubai expecting to do great but she did want to try to enjoy herself on the court.

"Well, to be honest, no, because last two tournaments I played I lost second round. Last week I lost first round. I mean, I was fighting. They were, like, really close, close matches, but it just didn't go my way. I mean, this week I just came here and just told myself, Okay, let's enjoy it.

I feel that I'm playing well. Ineed a little bit more luck. I mean, as the matches wore on, I mean, I saved four match points in the second round. Finally I felt like, okay, this is the luck, this is what I was waiting for. I think from there on my game was just improving," Krejcikova explained after her Dubai semifinal win over Pegula.