SYDNEY (AP) – Paula Badosa won her third career title on Saturday when she defeated French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(4) in the final of the Sydney Tennis Classic.
The fifth-seeded Spaniard won a crucial mini-break in the third-set tiebreaker to end the match in 2 hours and 22 minutes.
Badosa made good use of his strong serve to record 12 aces including six in a commanding first set.
Third seed Krejcikova broke Badosa’s serve twice in the second set. Both got service breaks in the final set before Badosa got the winning lead in the deciding tiebreaker.
It was another long match for Krzyszkova, who beat Annette Kontaveit in 2 hours and 30 minutes on Friday.
Badosa improved to 3–0 in the final of the WTA tournament. The 24-year-old from Spain won titles in Belgrade and Indian Wells last year and finished ninth in 2021.
Czech Republic’s Krejcikova, the No. 4 seed at the Australian Open, will face Germany’s Andrea Pekovic in the first round, while eighth seed Badosa will face Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic.
At the Adelaide International, unseeded Madison Keys won her first WTA Tour singles title since 2019, when she defeated Alison Riske 6-1, 6-2 in an All-American final.
The former world No. 7 and 2017 US Open finalist, who has slipped to her current 87th ranking due to injuries and declining form in recent years, beat third-seeded compatriot Coco Gauff 3-6, 6 with a leg injury. was removed. -2, 7-5 in the semifinals on Friday to reach their first Tour final since Brisbane in 2020.
Serena Williams needed only 66 minutes to beat her regular practice partner in the first All-American final on the WTA Tour in 2020, beating Jessica Pegula in Auckland.
A powerful forehand and moving well from baseline, Keys took the first set in less than 30 minutes and broke Riske twice in the second set to claim his sixth career title and first since Cincinnati in 2019. .
He did not give 57th-ranked Riske a break point opportunity, converting five of the nine and hitting four aces.
Keys can now turn her attention to the Australian Open, where she will face No. 12 Sofia Kenin in the first round. Kenin won the Australian Open in 2020. Riske prepares to meet Donna Vekic at Melbourne Park.
Two other finals are scheduled between the joint ATP-WTA tournament in Adelaide and Sydney, including Andy Murray’s maiden ATP Tour Finals against Aslan Karatsev of Russia at the Sydney Tennis Classic.
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