WTA Dubai: Kvitova knocks out world No. 2, Krejcikova can’t defend final

At the WTA tournament in Dubai, three representatives of the Czech Republic appeared in the eight finals. Markéta Vondoušová, Petra Kvitová and Barbora Krejčíková, who defended her final participation from last year. However, only two of the three players advanced to the quarterfinals.

Unfortunately,Barbora Krejcikova was eliminated in the second round of the tournament, when she lost to the 146th player in the world, Ukrainian Dajana Jestremska. She played her first final on hard surface in Dubai last year, but in the first match she struggled with Caroline Garcia, whom she defeated 6: 4, 7: 6.

Jestremska only returned to the courts last year when she was suspended for a doping test. For Krejcikova, it was her first loss to a player outside the top 100 since last April. In the match, she was unable to take her opponent’s serve even once and failed to break the tiebreak in the second set.

The Ukrainian defeated the Moravian tennis player 6::3 and 7::6(3).

Markéta Vondroušová of the Czech Republic will play against the Ukrainian in the quarterfinals. She won quite smoothly, beating Russia’s Varvara Grachevova in 54 minutes and will make her first quarterfinal this season. Like her opponent, Vondroušová had to go through the main qualification phase.

Vondrousova managed to beat Grachevova 6: 2 and 6: 0.

And finally, a great result by Petra Kvitova, who finally came alive and scored a very valuable scalp. For the first time since last September, she managed to win two matches in a row, moreover, she knocked out the world number two Aryna Sabalenka.

The two-time Wimbledon champion lost 4 out of 6 matches in the season opener and did not come to Dubai with form. But the same can be said of her opponent. The seventh game was the key and Kvitova managed to handle it better and didn’t let her lead go into the set. She won 6:4 and 6:4.

For the first time in the season, Kvitova will play in the quarterfinals, her opponent will be Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, currently the 21st player in the world. She also defeated top ten player Iga Swiatek in the second round. However, Petra has a positive match record with Ostapenko, leading 4:3.

Sources: Twitter, WTA, Tenisportal.cz