Barbora Krejcikova will play Iga Swiatek for the Dubai Tennis Championships title after settling a see-saw semi-final against Jessica Pegula in ruthless fashion.

Having seen Swiatek brush aside Coco Gauff in straight sets in the first match of the day, Krejcikova would have been confident of doing likewise after taking the opener against Pegula.

Third seed Pegula battled back to take the second set, though, and the American appeared to have momentum on her side, only to bow out in a one-sided decider, losing 6-1 5-7 6-0 for her first defeat to Krejcikova.

The pair's only prior meeting had been a straight-sets win for Pegula at the Australian Open earlier this year.

Pegula's sole other tournament since Melbourne had ended in similar circumstances to this one, with a 6-3 6-0 crushing at the hands of Swiatek in the final of last week's Qatar Open. The Pole is who Krejcikova must play next.

Krejcikova is the first player since Svetlana Kuznetsova in Cincinnati in 2019 to beat two top-three opponents at the same WTA 1000 tournament.

Yet after seeing off number two Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals and number three Pegula in the semis, she faces the world number one in the final.

Swiatek has had a rather more straightforward path, granted a walkover in the last eight and then, on Friday, playing Gauff, who she continues to dominate.

The Pole is now 6-0 across her career against Gauff, winning all of those matches in straight sets.

Gauff at least made Swiatek work a little harder than she has in many recent matches, going down 6-4 6-2 – the first match since Melbourne in which the number one has not won a set either 6-0 or 6-1, piling up the 'bagels' and 'breadsticks'.

Swiatek is 2-1 against Krejcikova for her career, although the Czech won their most recent meeting and their only encounter in a final in Ostrava last year.

Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka lost for the first time in 14 matches, and Coco Gauff set up a semi-final clash with Iga Swiatek at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Thursday.

Sabalenka fought back from a set down to end the title defence of Jelena Ostapenko a day earlier, but she came up short against Barbora Krejcikova as her Czech opponent overcame a tough first set to run out a 0-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 victor.

Sabalenka, playing in her first event since claiming a maiden grand slam title in Melbourne, romped into the lead by breaking Krejcikova's serve three times to go a set ahead.

But the world number two was pegged back in the second as Krejcikova battled to force a tie-break, which she dominated to level the match.

Krejcikova then completed the shock victory in style, breaking the second seed twice in the final set before clinching the win on her third match point to end Sabalenka's run of 13 straight triumphs.

Karolina Muchova's withdrawal due to an abdominal injury means it is Jessica Pegula who will face Krejcikova in the semi-finals on Friday.

After Swiatek reached the final four by virtue of Karolina Pliskova pulling out because of an illness, Gauff set up a sixth meeting with the world number one by beating Madison Keys 6-2 7-5.

In those five previous clashes between the pair, Gauff is yet to win a set.

But after cruising past Keys, doing so by converting four of five break points and winning 90 per cent of her service games, Gauff is confident of improving her dismal record against Swiatek on Friday.

"All five times, I did something wrong," Gauff said. "To be honest, she's playing great tennis and there's a reason she's world number one. 

"Tomorrow I have no pressure. I just have to play my game. I definitely think I've gotten better since the last time I played her.

"Ranking is just a number at the end of the day. You just have to step on the court believing you can win, and that's what I'm going to do tomorrow."

Iga Swiatek continued her ruthless form as she progressed with ease to the WTA Dubai Tennis Championships third round on Tuesday.

The world number one cruised to a 6-1 6-1 triumph over 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez, just three days after winning the Qatar Ladies Open in Doha.

That marked Swiatek's 41st main-draw victory in WTA 1000 events in just her 53rd outing, only Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova (52 each) have won more than 40 such matches in fewer attempts.

The 21-year-old has won her last 35 hard-court matches against opponents ranked outside the world's top 30, though Swiatek said she had to adapt against Canada's Fernandez.

"It wasn't that easy for sure. It was much tougher than the score said," said Swiatek, who will look to make the fourth round for the first time in Dubai when she faces Liudmila Samsonova.

"In the second set ... I needed to go a level up. I didn't have much time to get used to the conditions, but I'm just happy I could play solid tennis."

Jessica Pegula, the third favourite at the tournament, defeated Viktoriya Tomova 6-2 5-7 6-1 to set up a third-round battle with Ana Bogdan, who overcame Shelby Rogers 7-6 (7-3) 6-3.

Fifth seed Coco Gauff coasted past Aliaksandra Sasnovich with a 6-0 6-4 victory, teeing up a meeting with Elena Rybakina, who slammed six aces in a 7-5 6-2 defeat of Marie Bouzkova.

World number two Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated Rybakina at this year's Australian Open final, made light work of lucky loser Lauren Davis in a straight-sets rout as she claimed her 12th straight win in 2023.

Dubai's defending champion Jelena Ostapenko will be the next challenge for Sabalenka after defeating 17-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova for her seventh straight win at the event.

Barbora Krejcikova saved four match points en route to a 6-4 4-6 7-5 win over seventh seed Daria Kasatkina and will meet Karolina Pliskova next after she downed sixth favourite Maria Sakkari in straight sets.

Belinda Bencic and Marta Kostyuk played out the match of the day as the former claimed a 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 triumph, with that clash taking three hours and 27 minutes – the second-longest on the WTA Tour this year.

Liudmila Samsonova progressed after a marathon battle at the Dubai Tennis Championships, while Petra Kvitova breezed through as the seeds escaped unscathed on Sunday.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova, the 12th favourite in the United Arab Emirates, eased past Italy's Martina Trevisan 6-2 6-1 to make a dominant start.

World number 15 Samsonova was made to work to beat Paula Badosa, winning 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 to tee up a clash with Qinwen Zheng, who overcame compatriot Zhang Shuai in straight sets.

Samsonova's triumph took three hours and 22 minutes, the longest match of the WTA Tour season thus far, in a thrilling first-round encounter between two top-20 players.

"Playing against Paula is always tough," 14th seed Samsonova said in her on-court interview. "She's doing unbelievable, so I'm really proud that I stayed on the court until the end.

"I think I'm growing match after match, day by day. I know it's a long journey, and I hope to continue like that."

Barbora Krejcikova, the 2021 French Open champion, cruised into the last 32 with a comfortable 6-4 6-2 victory over Irina-Camelia Begu as she aims to go one better than her runners-up finish two years ago in Dubai.

Another routine victory saw American Madison Keys ease past Jasmine Paolini 6-1 6-1, but there was no such luck for 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.

She was dispatched 6-1 6-1 by world number 26 Marie Bouzkova, while Amanda Anisimova claimed a 6-3 6-2 win over veteran two-time grand slam finalist Vera Zvonareva.

Viktoriya Tomova had too much for Kaia Kanepi in a 6-3 6-1 success, with her reward a second-round clash against third seed Jessica Pegula.

World number four Pegula lost to the in-form Iga Swiatek in the Qatar Ladies Open final on Saturday, and Leylah Fernandez will face the Pole next after beating Julia Grabher 6-4 6-2.

Victoria Azarenka breezed into the second round of the Qatar Open with an emphatic straight-sets defeat of Ipek Oz on Monday.

Playing her first match since losing to Elena Rybakina in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, Azarenka dispatched outsider Oz 6-1 6-1.

Azarenka, a two-time champion in Doha, only needed an hour and seven minutes to book a meeting with Belinda Bencic or Viktoriya Tomova.

The Belarusian broke twice in the first set and four times in the second, failing to hold just the once in a commanding display.

Eighth seed Veronika Kudermetova battled her way past Barbora Krejcikova, winning 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-5).

Karolina Muchov secured an impressive 6-2 6-2 win over Martina Trevisan in the opening first-round match of the day.

Paula Badosa savoured a strong serving day as she overcame Anett Kontaveit in a tricky Adelaide International 2 opener ahead of the Australian Open.

Badosa and Kontaveit both got as high as number two in the world rankings last year, but neither currently sits in the top 10, with Badosa down at number 11 and Kontaveit 17th.

Tuesday's tussle in South Australia went the way of the Spaniard, with Badosa scoring a 6-4 6-3 win against her Estonian opponent.

She had five aces and only one double fault, winning 77 per cent of points when landing a first serve in.

Another Estonian awaits her at the last-16 stage in veteran campaigner Kaia Kanepi and Badosa is happy with how she had begun the tournament.

"I think I started really good," Badosa said in an on-court interview. "I was serving very well. I was going for the first shots."

Asked about signs of improvement with her serve, Badosa said: "It depends on the day, to be honest. I worked a lot this past 10 days and was really focused on that, so I'm happy about that."

Czech Barbora Krejcikova, another player with a career-high ranking of number two, earned a second-round shot at Russian Daria Kasatkina after winning 6-2 7-6 (7-3) against last year's runner-up Alison Riske-Amritraj.

Other winners in Adelaide on Tuesday were Amanda Anisimova, Zheng Qinwen, Veronika Kudermetova, Anna Kalinskaya and Katerina Siniakova.

At the Hobart International, second seed Elise Mertens fell 6-4 6-4 to fellow Belgian Maryna Zanevska, while French third seed Alize Cornet was also knocked out, losing 6-4 6-2 to Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto.

Former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin had no such trouble, seeing off China's Zhu Lin 6-2 6-2

Barbora Krejcikova completed a fairytale home tournament as she won the Ostrava Open by beating world number one Iga Swiatek 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 in Sunday's final.

Krejcikova lifted the Tallinn Open last week for her first title of the season, and made it two from two with an impressive run to the final before a hard-fought triumph over Swiatek to earn a ninth straight victory and another championship trophy.

Swiatek herself had won 10 matches on the bounce, and the Pole raced to five of the first six games to lead the opener 5-1, though Krejcikova rattled off four straight games to level it up. 

However, after making it 6-5, Swiatek then found a crucial break to clinch the first set.

The second went all the way to a tie-break, which Krejcikova took the ascendancy of by putting herself 6-1 up, and despite a late Swiatek rally, the Czech 26-year-old finally levelled the match after watching four set points come and go.

In the decider, neither could find a break until the eighth game, with Krejcikova doing so to put herself within a game of winning.

And in an extraordinary final stand, Swiatek survived five championship points before her resistance was ultimately broken to deny her an eighth final victory in 2022.

It was Krejcikova's first win against Swiatek, having lost their previous two meetings, as the seventh seed sealed an incredible victory.

World number one Iga Swiatek will face Barbora Krejcikova in the Ostrava Open final after beating Ekaterina Alexandrova on Saturday.

Swiatek continued her stellar season with a 7-6 (7-5) 2-6 6-4 victory over the Russian.

A tie-break was needed to settle the opening set, with Swiatek securing a crucial break of serve when 6-5 up.

The Pole was caught off guard in the second set as Alexandrova took it the distance, before Swiatek claimed the solitary break of the decider to lead 4-3 and did not allow her opponent a way back.

Swiatek, who has 60 wins to her name in 2022, will do battle with Krejcikova in the championship match after she came from a set down to defeat Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4.

Rybakina served 17 aces to Krejciokva's two, but the Czech 26-year-old battled to victory to put herself in the final of her home tournament.

At the Jasmin Open, Alize Cornet knocked out second seed Veronika Kudermetova with a 6-4 6-3 triumph to clinch her place in Sunday's final.

Cornet saved nine of 11 break points to beat the world number 12 and has not dropped a set all week at the tournament in Tunisia.

Elise Mertens awaits Cornet in the final after a 6-4 6-0 success over Claire Liu, who knocked out top seed Ons Jabeur on Friday.

Mertens broke Liu at 5-4 up to take the first set before emphatically sealing victory with a sublime second in which she won 24 of the 29 points.

Home favourite Ons Jabeur was on the end of a big upset at the Jasmin Open on Friday as the world number two was eliminated by Claire Liu in the quarter-finals.

Jabeur saw off Ann Li and Evgeniya Rodina in straight sets to reach the last eight, but Liu – ranked 73 in the world – came out on top 6-3 4-6 6-4.

Liu is now into her second semi-final of the season and will face Elise Mertens, who defeated Moyuka Uchijima 6-0 3-6 6-4 in the final match of the day.

Second and third seeds Veronika Kudermetova and Alize Cornet will meet in the other semi after beating Diane Parry and Tamara Zidansek respectively in straight sets.

At the Ostrava Open, meanwhile, tournament favourite Iga Swiatek reached her 10th semi-final of the year with a 6-4 6-4 victory over qualifier Caty McNally.

Swiatek needed nearly two hours to seal her 59th victory of the season – just one short of tying Caroline Wozniacki, the most recent female to hit 60 wins in a calendar year (2017).

She will now face Ekaterina Alexandrova, who proved too strong for Tereza Martincova in a 6-1 4-6 6-1 victory.

Another grand slam winner in Barbora Krejcikova earlier beat Alycia Parks 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 on home soil to maintain her positive form, a week after triumphing at the Tallinn Open.

Awaiting her in the semi-finals is Elena Rybakina following the reigning Wimbledon champion's 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 victory against Petra Kvitova.

Anett Kontaveit and Maria Sakkari were both knocked out of the Ostrava Open on Thursday as several top seeds tumbled.

Third seed Kontaveit, who won this competition last year, retired when a set down to Tereza Martincova, while world number seven Maria Sakkari was defeated 5-7 7-5 7-5 by 21-year-old American Alycia Parks in a big upset.

Parks lost the opener but found two crucial breaks of serve when 6-5 up in both the second and third sets to eliminate the fourth seed.

The withdrawal of Belinda Bencica – seeded sixth – with a foot injury put Barbora Krejcikova into the quarter-finals, while Ekaterina Alexandrova will also be in the last eight after overcoming fifth seed Daria Kasatkina 6-1 7-6 (7-1).

The tournament favourites were in much better form at the Jasmin Open in Tunisia, as the top two seeds sealed their places in the quarter-finals with straight-sets wins.

Favourite Ons Jabeur cruised to a 6-1 6-3 victory over Evgeniya Rodina, converting four of her seven break points to safely advance to the next round of her home tournament.

And number two seed Veronika Kudermetova eased past Magdalena Frech 6-3 6-4 to set up a quarter-final meeting with Diane Parry.

Iga Swiatek is through to the quarter-finals of the Ostrava Open after Ajla Tomljanovic retired hurt in their second-round match on Wednesday.

The world number one had won the first set 7-5, but her Australian opponent was forced to concede at 2-2 in the second.

Swiatek is now the female player with the most wins in a single year (58) in the last five seasons. Former world number one Ash Barty recorded 57 victories in 2019.

The second seed in Ostrava is out after Paula Badosa was beaten 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 by Petra Kvitova in front of a delighted Czech crowd, while Elena Rybakina is also through to the last eight after coming from behind to win against Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 7-5.

Wednesday's two other matches saw more success for Czech participants as Karolina Muchova beat seventh seed Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-4 6-4, while Barbora Krejcikova defeated Shelby Rogers 6-2 6-2.

There was less Czech joy at the Jasmin Open in Tunisia, where Katerina Siniakova was beaten 7-5 6-2 by Claire Liu.

Elsewhere, number three seed Alize Cornet eased past Harriet Dart 6-3 6-4, Elise Mertens came from behind to beat Despina Papamichail and Diane Parry went through against French compatriot Lucrezia Stefanini after the latter retired hurt in the second set.

Barbora Krejcikova claimed her first title of the year by beating top seed Anett Kontaveit in the inaugural Tallinn Open final on Sunday.

Krejcikova had not won a singles title since her third triumph of 2021 in Prague last July, but ended her drought with a 6-2 6-3 defeat of the top seed.

The Czech ended the home favourite's hopes of being crowned champion in a showpiece match that was over in an hour and 21 minutes.

Kontaveit had won 24 consecutive indoor matches on hard courts, but she was no match for the 2021 French Open champion.

Krejcikova won 71 per cent of points on Kontaveit's second serve, breaking twice in the opening set and three times in the second.

She drew first blood to go 4-2 in the first following precise groundstrokes off both wings, then broke for a second time to seal an opening set in which Kontaveit made 13 unforced errors.

World number four Kontaveit responded with a break in the opening game of the second set, but failed to back that up with a hold.

Kontaveit had the initiative again at 3-1, but there was a sense of deja vu as her opponent broke straight back and served out the match after moving 5-3 in front with another break.

In the midst of a brilliant season, world number one Iga Swiatek had another milestone to celebrate on Thursday when she beat Gabriela Lee at the Poland Open.

Swiatek's 6-3 6-2 win against her Romanian opponent was her 48th of the season, already equalling the best tally reached by a female player in the entirety of 2021.

The top seed will have a chance to go one better than Anett Kontaveit and Ons Jabeur from last season when she faces Caroline Garcia in the quarter-finals of her home tournament.

Garcia beat Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-3 7-5, while Jasmine Paolini dug deep to see off Clara Burel 6-1 6-7 (1-7) 6-0.

There was a big upset at the Prague Open, as defending champion Barbora Krejcikova was eliminated in a 3-6 7-5 (7-5) 6-3 defeat at the hands of Nao Hibino.

Fellow Czech Lucie Havlickova was dispatched in straight sets by top seed Kontaveit, but Linda Noskova will keep the home flag flying after beating Alize Cornet.

Noskova's first career tour-level quarter-final will come against Krejcikova's conqueror Hibino.

Anett Kontaveit and Barbora Krejcikova both breezed through at the Hamburg European Open, while Yulia Putintseva eased into the Palermo Ladies Open second round.

Top seed Kontaveit overcame world number 61 Irina Bara in straight sets in her first-round clash and third favourite Krejcikova followed suit in her second-round match against Poland's Magdalena Frech.

Kontaveit will meet Sweden's Rebecca Peterson in the next round as she looks to set up a quarter-final meeting in Germany with eighth seed Andrea Petkovic, who defeated Misaki Doi 6-4 6-3 on Tuesday.

There was no such luck for ninth seed Elena Gabriela Ruse, though, after she lost 6-0 6-4 to last week's Budapest Grand Prix winner Bernarda Pera.

Swiss Joanne Zuger will next be the next challenge for Pera as she aims to reach a quarter-final clash against Katerina Siniakova, who triumphed 6-1 6-1 over Brazil's Laura Pigossi.

Putintseva is ranked as the second favourite in Italy and progressed with ease from her first-round clash against world number 147 Jaimee Fourlis, winning 6-3 6-1.

Seventh seed Anna Bondar had little difficulty beating Clara Burel 6-4 6-4, though Caroline Garcia and Nuria Parrizas Diaz faced more difficult tasks in their respective openers.

France's Garcia, the fifth favourite in Palermo, responded to a first-set scare to defeat compatriot Chloe Paquet, while eighth seed Parrizas Diaz also lost her opening set before downing Asia Muhammad.

Barbora Krejcikova beat Suzan Lamens in the opening round of the Hamburg European Open for her first victory on clay in over a year.

The third seed, who claimed a second Wimbledon women's double title this month, saw off qualifier Lamens 6-2 6-4 to reach the last 16.

Her most recent victory on a clay-court surface prior to Monday came at last year's French Open, winning both the singles and women's doubles titles at Roland Garros in 2021.

Last year's runner-up Andrea Petkovic is also through thanks to a 6-3 6-3 victory over Tamara Korpatsch and will now face Misaki Doi, who defeated Oksana Selekhmeteva.

At the Palermo Ladies Open, meanwhile, fourth seed Sara Sorribes Tormo battled back from a set down to overcome Ana Bogdan 2-6 6-4 6-2.

Third seed Zhang Shuai also avoided an upset as she secured a 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (9-7) victory over Rebeka Masarova, while Irina Begu required three sets to beat Marina Bassols.