Barbora Krejcikova handed Iga Swiatek her first defeat in a final this year as she notched a comeback win to claim the AGEL Open title on Sunday. The Czech clinched the title in the city of Ostrava in her country, the Czech Republic, 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-3 after three hours and 16 minutes of play.
Swiatek, who’d gone into the match with a 2-0 record against her opponent, built a 5-1 lead in the first set. However, Krejcikova fought back and brought the set at par at five-all. But Swiatek put an end to the latter’s comeback hopes as she clinched the set and the lead to go up in the match.
In the second set, Krejcikova went up an early break but found herself being pulled back by Swiatek levelled the set at four-all. In the tie-break, Krejcikova maintained her lead to win the set and push the match into the decider. In the third set, the only break of serve was that of Swiatek’s in the eighth game that gave Krejcikova the chance to serve for the match. Swiatek wasn’t done though, and she saved five match points before Krejcikova capitalised on the sixth with an ace.
AGEL Open: Barbora Krejcikova survives Iga Swiatek test
Post-match, Krejcikova shared, “It was a big match, I think, for both sides. We played amazingly. We gave an amazing show to the fans, so I’m really happy with that and with the way I have performed. It’s always great to be a winner in your home country. It’s a huge victory… It’s one of the biggest matches that I ever played. The atmosphere was just very energetic and very unbelievable for both sides. It’s really one of the top matches that I think I ever played in my life.”
Following her AGEL Open title run, Barbora Krejcikova’s now on a 10-match winning run going back to the Tallinn Open in Estonia the previous week. Iga Swiatek, meanwhile, lost her first final this year after having won all seven of the finals she’d played earlier this year.
Photo Credit: AGEL Open Twitter