If anyone had a right to be tired before and during Saturday’s WTA 500 San Diego Open tennis singles final, it was Barbora Krejcikova.
She played three doubles matches and three singles matches in the previous five days just to get to the championship match of each event. Total time on the court: 10 hours, 3 minutes — including nearly four hours on Friday alone.
The last thing she needed was a marathon final against fellow wild card entrant Sofia Kenin. So of course that’s what she got.
No matter. As afternoon turned to evening under atypically slate gray skies at Barnes Tennis Center, Krejcikova and Kenin battled on in a match befitting two major champions before Krejcikova prevailed 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
Krejcikova, a 27-year-old from the Czech Republic who won the 2021 French Open, captured the first set with three straight service breaks. Kenin, a 24-year-old who was born in Moscow but came to the United States as an infant, earned the second set with a pair of service breaks as she looked for her first tournament win since the 2020 Australian Open.
And then they settled in, seemingly headed for a final-set tiebreaker. No one even had a break point until the ninth game when Krejcikova saved four, closing out the game with her 11th ace of the match.
As the match rolled past the 21/2-hour mark, Kenin finally cracked. Her backhand on the second match point sailed wide and Krejcikova had her second victory of the season and her first since Dubai in February.
Both players were in the field only thanks to tournament director Ryan Redondo, who awarded them wild cards in the main draw just a few days before play began.
“Normally I wouldn’t be here,” Krejcikova said during the on-court trophy presentation, which included a surfboard almost as tall as her 5-foot-10 frame. “I really want to thank them. It was very special. I really enjoyed my stay here.”
She had more business after the singles final, returning 75 minutes later to team with Katerina Siniakova to win the doubles title. They routed Danielle Collins and Coco Vandeweghe 6-1, 6-4 in what was Vandeweghe’s final match before retirement. Krejcikova and Siniakova have been a doubles powerhouse, winning seven majors, including the career Grand Slam, plus the Tokyo Olympics.
For Kenin, the wait continues, though she’s getting closer to being the player she was back before anyone knew what a pandemic was.
Back in mid-winter of 2020, she was the 21-year-old champion of the Australian Open, the youngest in a dozen years. By the time the first week of March hit, she was ranked fourth in the world.
Even after the pandemic shut down sports for many months, Kenin remained a force. She was runner-up at the French Open, held that year in November, and was named WTA Player of the Year as she finished the year with that same No. 4 ranking.
Injuries slowed her, however, and at this time last year her ranking had dropped to No. 312. She ended the year at No. 235 and though she hadn’t advanced past the third round of a tournament since January, she began this week at No. 93.
After Saturday she was at No. 43.
“I’m just super happy with my progress,” Kenin said. “Of course I’m disappointed (to lose) but definitely a lot of positives. Last year I played here and lost first round and now I was playing in the finals against a top-10 player. Obviously I showed I can play. Just a few points here and there didn’t go my way. Of course it’s unfortunate but overall I’m going to take all the positives from this week.”
Kenin was emotional during the on-court ceremony immediately after the match. She has said throughout the week that Barnes is a special place for her, the site of her triumph in the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18 national championship in 2015.
“Great memories,” she said. “I love it. I feel like that court almost brought me luck, but it’s OK. It did its work. I can’t complain. I’m excited to come back here next year.”
Next year’s tournament will move ahead several months and be played Feb. 24 through March 3, leading into the prestigious Indian Wells event.
Posner is a freelance writer.
