Day 6 in Dubai: Krejčíková will face Pegula, Šwiatek with Gauff for the final

• Czechs in action •
Barbora Krejčíková (30.) – Jessica Pegula (3rd) | Center Court (16:00 CET)
Barbora Krejčíková is within reach of her second Dubai final. The Grand Slam champion and former world No. 2 will face Jessica Pegula, currently the third-ranked woman, in the semifinals. The only fight so far took place in the round of 16 of this year’s Australian Open, where Pegula was happy in two sets.

Twenty-seven-year-old Krejčíková excels in semi-final duels, she has succeeded in this stage in the last seven cases and has an overall record of 8-1. Specifically, at the WTA 1000 events, she only played for the finals the year before last in Dubai and defeated Jil Teichmann in two sets. The native of Brno’s Ivančice will attack her ninth career final, the first this year. The Czech Republic can be represented in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for the sixth time in the last 10 years.

Pegula, who celebrates her 29th birthday today, is far worse in the semi-finals (6-6), but won the last two. He is sixth (2-3) on the “thousands” and a first in Dubai. The Buffalo native will be aiming for her seventh final this season, reaching the final round a week ago in Doha. While the Czechs have appeared quite regularly in the finals in Dubai recently, the last American finalist is Venus Williams (triumph 2014).

Krejčíková presents herself in Dubai with very unstable performances. In the opening match, she easily outplayed Irina Begu, then eliminated four match points from Darya Kasatkina, clearly defeated Petra Kvitova, and finally turned around a nearly lost duel with this year’s undefeated Aryna Sabalenkova. This can be a big problem against the steady Pegula. She came up short in her only previous encounter and the favored American had a day off so she will be rested. The Czech Republic’s last hope certainly has the weapons to advance, but will probably need one of its best performances to extend its semi-final unbeaten run.

Winner tip: Jessica Pegula

Current form
Last year, Krejčíková went through a three-month break caused by an elbow injury, which started just after a performance in the Middle East, and she was looking for a very long time. She really got going at the end of the season, when she dominated consecutive indoor events in Tallinn and Ostrava. This year she is doing solidly, she got past the opening round in three of the four previous tournaments, she played in the round of 16 at the Australian Open and registered all four failures against members of the Top 20. In Abu Dhabi she had a bye in the second round (Ljudmila Samsonovová) and in Doha in the very first (Veronika Kuděrmetová).

The journey through the tournament
In Dubai, she started with a smooth win over Irina Begu, after four averted match points from Darya Kasatkina, she broke her losing streak against the Russians, and after a clear victory over compatriot Petra Kvitova, she advanced to her first quarter-final of the year. In it, she was a clear outsider and lost to this year’s undefeated Aryna Sabalenkova already 0-6 1-3, but she still managed to find her way into the top quartet.

Historie na Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
This is the third time he has completed the main competition. The year before last, she lost the final to Garbiňa Muguruza and last year she finished in the second round.

Barbora Krejčíková – This season
Best results: Dubai (SF)
The greatest achievements on outdoor concrete: Dubai (SF)
Balance: 9-4
Balance from the last 10 matches: 7-3
Balance on outdoor concrete: 9-4
Record against Top 10 players: 2-2 (career 9-14)
Balance in the WTA 1000 semifinals: 0-0 (career 1-0)
Balance in the semi-finals: 0-0 (career 8-1)
Grandslamy: Australian Open (OF)

Barbora Krejčíková – Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
Career record: 10-2
Best result: final (2021)
Last year’s result: round of 16
Balance in the semi-finals: 1-0
Dress rehearsal: Abu Dhabi (2K), Doha (1K)
Journey through the tournament: Begu (6-4 6-2), (7) Kasatkin (6-4 4-6 7-5), (12) Kvitova (6-3 6-2), (2) Sabalenkova (0-6 7-6 6-1)

Current form
Pegulaová doesn’t waste time even at the beginning of this season and continues the life form of the last two years. This year, she completed a total of 16 duels, and only Petra Kvitová, Viktoria Azarenková and Iga Šwiateková found the recipe for her. After winning the United Cup for the United States, she reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the third year in a row and was just one win away from a third career triumph at this level a week ago in Doha.

The journey through the tournament
Except for one hesitation, he is off to a good start in Dubai so far. On her way to the quarterfinals, she ran into qualifiers Viktorija Tomovová and Ana Bogdanova. In the fight for the semi-finals, she finally had time off after the withdrawal of Karolína Muchová.

Historie na Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
She made her debut in this venue the year before last and reached the quarterfinals, last year she already said goodbye in the second round after a clear loss to Ons Dzabúrová.

Jessica Pegulaová – This season
Best results: Doha (F)
The greatest achievements on outdoor concrete: Doha (F)
Balance: 13-3
Balance from the last 10 matches: 8-2
Balance on outdoor concrete: 13-3
Record against Top 30 players: 6-3 (career 35-40)
Balance in the WTA 1000 semifinals: 0-0 (2-3 career)
Balance in the semi-finals: 1-0 (6-6 career)
Grandslamy: Australian Open (ČF)

Jessica Pegulaová – Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
Career record: 6-2
Best result: semi-final (2023)
Last year’s result: 2nd round
Balance in the semi-finals: 0-0
Dress rehearsal: Doha (F)
Journey through the tournament: free draw, Tomovová (6-2 5-7 6-1), Bogdanová (6-4 6-3), Muchová (no fight)

• Another semi-final •
Iga Šwiateková (1st) – Cori Gauffová (6.) | Center Court (14:00 CET)
Iga Šwiateková will try to extend her unbeaten run in the Middle East this year against her much-loved opponent. She has faced Cori Gauff, who will be attacking her first final at the WTA’s most prestigious tournaments, five times so far, winning each time in straight sets. In the last four fights, she even lost a maximum of four games.

The 21-year-old Šwiateková completed a total of 11 semi-final duels in the last 12 months and failed only against Aryna Sabalenková at the Tournament of Champions. Overall, she has a record of 14-4 at this stage (she is undefeated, 5-0 on the WTA 1000) and in the only semi-final this year she outclassed Veronika Kuděrmetová 6-0 6-1. The native of Warsaw can advance to her 15th career final on Friday. The only Polish finalist in the history of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is 2012 winner Agnieszka Radwaňská.

The 18-year-old Gauff outclassed Danka Koviničová in the semifinals in Auckland this year, but she is still in the fights for the finals in negative numbers (4-5). It is the second time in her career that she is in the semi-finals of the “thousands”, she lost to Šwiateková the year before on clay in Rome. The Atlanta native can become the first American finalist in the Dubai tournament since Venus Williams triumphed nine years ago.

Šwiateková seems invincible in recent days and is apparently determined to definitely make up for the unsuccessful Australian summer. The Pole has destroyed Danielle Collins, Veronika Kudérmetova, Jessica Pegula, Leylah Fernandez and Lyudmila Samsonova in the past week and it would be a huge surprise if Gauff manages to beat her for the first time. She simply can’t beat the Polish star, she lost to her in all four cases last year and hasn’t made any significant progress since then. Considering Šwiateková’s recent results, every game won is a success for her opponents, even though Gauff definitely has bigger ambitions.

Tip for the winner: Iga Šwiateková

Current form
Šwiateková dominated last year and is the sovereign queen of the rankings. Last season, she collected eight trophies, won two Grand Slams and went on a historic 37-game unbeaten streak (the longest in this century). But she did not do well in Australia, in the United Cup she lost clearly to Jessica Pegula and at the Australian Open she was already eliminated in the round of 16 against Jelena Rybakin. However, she is undefeated in the Middle East, having successfully defended her title in Doha a week ago.

The journey through the tournament
After Doha, she also defeated her opponents in Dubai, allowing only two games to Leylah Fernandez and one less to Lyudmila Samsonova. She did not have to play in the quarterfinals after the withdrawal of Karolína Plíšková. In the Middle East, they completed a total of five matches and lost only eight games in total.

Historie na Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
She made her debut in Dubai the year before last and played last year as well. Each time she finished in the round of 16 against the later champions (Garbiňe Muguruzaová 2021 and Jelena Ostapenkoová 2022). This year, she has already improved her local maximum twice.

Iga Šwiateková – This season
Best results: Doha (T)
The greatest achievements on outdoor concrete: Doha (T)
Balance: 11-2
Balance from the last 10 matches: 8-2
Balance on outdoor concrete: 11-2
Record against Top 10 players: 1-1 (career 21-9)
Balance in the WTA 1000 semifinals: 0-0 (career 5-0)
Balance in the semi-finals: 1-0 (career 14-4)
Grandslamy: Australian Open (OF)

Iga Šwiateková – Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
Career record: 4-2
Best result: semi-final (2023)
Last year’s result: round of 16
Balance in the semi-finals: 0-0
Dress rehearsal: Doha (T)
Journey through the tournament: free draw, Fernandez (6-1 6-1), (14) Samsonov (6-1 6-0), Kar. Pliskova (no fight)

Current form
The Gauffs are doing great at the beginning of this season, so far they have only found two killers. At the opening event in Auckland, she dominated all five matches and celebrated her third WTA tournament triumph. In the round of 16 of the Australian Open, Jelena Ostapenko was beyond her strength, and in Doha, after the scalp of Petra Kvitová, she ended up with Veronika Kuděrmetová.

The journey through the tournament
She only had to play two matches to advance to the semi-finals. After the free draw in the opening round, she easily dealt with Aljaksandra Sasnovičová, Jelena Rybakinová did not make it to the round of 16, and in the quarterfinals she managed a derby with Madison Keysová.

Historie na Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
He is playing in this venue for the third year in a row and the third time in his career. The year before last, she was eliminated in the quarterfinals after defeating Jil Teichmann, last year she was eliminated in the first round.

Cori Gauffová – This season
Best results: Auckland (T)
The greatest achievements on outdoor concrete: Auckland (T)
Balance: 11-2
Balance from the last 10 matches: 8-2
Balance on outdoor concrete: 11-2
Record against Top 10 players: 0-0 (career 7-16)
Balance in the WTA 1000 semifinals: 0-0 (career 0-1)
Balance in the semi-finals: 1-0 (career 4-5)
Grandslamy: Australian Open (OF)

Cori Gauffová – Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
Career record: 5-2
Best result: semi-final (2023)
Last year’s result: 1. round
Balance in the semi-finals: 0-0
Dress rehearsal: Doha (ČF)
Journey through the tournament: free draw, Sasnovičová (6-0 6-4), (9) Rybakinová (no fight), Keysová (6-2 7-5)