Barbora Krejcikova completed a clean sweep of the world’s top three players with a stunning victory over top-ranked Iga Swiatek in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships final on Saturday.
The Czech followed up her surprise wins over Jessica Pegula and Aryna Sabalenka – the world number three and two respectively – this week with an even bigger upset as she shocked Swiatek 6-4 6-2 in 91 minutes.
In doing so, the former French Open champion joined elite company with Steffi Graf, Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Sabalenka the only other players to have beaten the top three-ranked players in a tournament.
Krejcikova, herself a former world number two but now ranked 30th, was strong on the Swiatek serve but the Pole twice recovered from breaks in a tight first set.
Krejcikova took firm control with another decisive break to lead 5-4 in the first set and then confidently closed out victory in the second.
