Barbora Krejcikova pulled off a stunning 6-4, 6-2 upset of World No.1 Iga Swiatek in the Dubai Tennis Championships women's singles final on Saturday to claim her first WTA 1000 title and sixth singles title of her career. Daniil Medvedev, on the other hand, put an end to Andy Murray's Qatar Open title hopes, claiming his second singles title in nine days with a 6-4, 6-4 victory in the final.
This was Krejcikova's fourth victory over a Top 10 player this week. It began with a dramatic four-match-point escape against Daria Kasatkina in the second round. She then went on to beat No.3 Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals, No.2 Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals, and World No.1 Swiatek in the final.
Krejcikova has now won two titles against Swiatek in the last two encounters, both of which have come in finals. Last year's 3-hour, 16-minute Ostrava final and this 91-minute Dubai final have both been won by Krejcikova - the latter ending Swiatek's streak of six consecutive WTA 1000 finals without a loss.
This win is expected to lift her from World No.30 to World No.16 in the singles rankings.
Medvedev Beats Murray
The match marked Murray's fifth Qatar Open final and sixth consecutive loss in an ATP 500 final dating back to his defeat to Novak Djokovic at the 2016 BNP Paribas Open. The lanky Russian showed off some of his trademark shots in the match, stringing together winners from the baseline and providing a steady stream of service points.
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