Last year’s Roland Garros singles and doubles champion Barbora Krejcikova beat world number 7 Anett Kontaveit 0-6 6-4 7-6 (14-12) en route to reaching the final of the Sydney Tennis Classic.
Krejcikova fended off seven match points before converting her fifth match points after 2 hours and 30 minutes. The Czech player has reached the sixth final of her career.
Kontaveit beat Krejikova in straight sets in their only head-to-head match at the WTA Finals in Guadalajara en route to reaching the final.
Krejcikova earned her fifth career against top 10 players.
Kontaveit fended off three break points in the first game of the match, but she cruised through to a bagel win in the first set with three breaks of serve after 29 minutes.
Krejcikova earned a crucial break in the ninth game to win the second set 6-4. The Czech player earned the first break in the third game of the decisive set to take a 2-1 lead. Kontaveit broke straight back to draw level to 2-2.
Kontaveit earned her first three match points on Krejcikova’s serve at 6-5. Krejcikova saved them to set up a decisive tie-break. Krejcikova earned her first two match points at 6-4, but Kontaveit saved them with her backhand to draw level to 6-6.
Kontaveit wasted seven match points and Krejicikova did not convert was not able to convert five match points. Krejcikova earned her fifth match point at 13-12, as Kontaveit fired a backhand wide. Krejicikova sealed the win as Kontaveit hit her forehand return long.
“I think from both sides it was a really tough match. I think we played wonderful tennis. It was very tight, and I am really happy that I was able to hold the nerves better and that I won this match. I was expecting it was going to be really difficult, and I know that Anett is playing really good tennis and she is very aggressive. I was just playing, just trying to fight for every single ball. When I had those match points down, I was just trying to figure out how to build up the point and how to win the point, and that was everything that I was focusing on. I had to change my game style a little bit more to turn the match around, to start playing aggressive the point from my side. Otherwise she was just killing me”, said Kreijikova.
Krejcikova set up a final against Paula Badosa, who beat Daria Kasatkina 6-2 6-2 in 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Badosa won 14 of the first 16 points to race out to a 4-0 lead with two breaks. Kasatkina pulled one break back in the fifth game but Badosa converted her second break point in the eighth game to seal the first set 6-2. The Spanish player broke twice to open up a 5-0 lead in the second set. Kasatkina saved a match point at 5-0 and pulled one break back in the sixth game, but Badosa sealed the second set 6-2 with her third break in the eighth game.
Badosa leads 2-0 in her two head-to-head matches against Krejcikova after beating her Czech rival with the same score of 6-1 7-5 in the second round in Madrid and the fourth round at Indian Wells last year.
