Versatile Krejcikova takes singles and doubles in San Diego

SAN DIEGO—Past 6:00 p.m. on a blustery Saturday night, Barbora Krejcikova stared into three things she could not control—unseasonably brisk conditions, an incoming wind, and a zealous opponent, eager to win her first singles title in over three years.

Up against fellow wild card Sofia Kenin in the final of the Cymbiotika San Diego Open, the 13th-ranked Krejcikova served in the third set at 4-all. “I expected it’s going to be difficult,” said Krejcikova. “I know that she’s very solid from both sides.”

Over the course of what proved the pivotal game of the match, Krejcikova faced four break points, two at 15-40, another pair past deuce. On two of them, Kenin committed the kind of mistake that haunts tennis players of all levels: hitting a second serve return into the net. And on the fourth, with this area’s customary north-to-south wind at her back, Kenin lofted a moonball long.

Back at deuce, Krejcikova’s touch—sharpened mightily through years of elegant doubles play—came in handy as she feathered a forehand down-the-line that turned out to be just soft and shallow enough to prove unreachable. There followed an ace down the T. And though in the next game, Kenin twice held points to reach 5-all, on both occasions, Krejcikova whipped exceptional forehands. Though Kenin was able to fight off one championship point, the second was too much, a crosscourt backhand floating wide. After two hours and 38 minutes, Krejcikova had won her seventh career singles title and second of 2023, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

“Today was just luck,” said Kenin. “I felt like I was right there.” Ranked 93 as the week began, Kenin began this summer with a first round win over Coco Gauff at Wimbledon and now concludes it with a runner-up showing for the first time since going that far in the fall edition of Roland Garros back in October 2020. Signs indeed point upward for Kenin, particularly if she can earn more points on her second serve; this evening Kenin won only 13 of 41.

San Diego’s Barnes Tennis Center was filled to capacity, a tidy audience of 2,628 cheering for both players as the match ebbed and flowed. While Kenin’s game draws on exceptional intensity, excellent movement, crisp groundstrokes, and occasional drop shots, Krejcikova’s is an outgrowth of her early success in doubles. Though she can certainly lash the ball into a corner, more frequently there is the sense that Krejcikova is coaxing the ball as a way to control and confound. Both styles are quite effective, as evidenced by Kenin’s run to the 2020 Australian Open singles title and Krejcikova’s at Roland Garros a year later.

That same fortnight in Paris, Krejcikova also won the doubles title with her longstanding doubles partner, Katerina Siniakova. In San Diego, she equaled that feat, for the second time ever taking both events at the same tournament. Paired once again with Siniakova, the two beat the pick-up team of Danielle Collins and, in the last match of her career, San Diegan CoCo Vandeweghe, 6-1, 6-4.

Soon after 10 p.m. on this Saturday night, Krejcikova entered the media interview room, having concluded a busy week and a long Saturday. She’d arrived at the Barnes Center at noon, began competing at 4:00 p.m. and, as day turned into night, earned $120,000 for winning the singles and split $40,000 with Siniakova. “It was a very long day, but a very successful day, so I’ll take it,” she said. Best of all, it was a healthy week. Krejcikova in recent years has struggled with elbow, arm, and leg injuries, but of late has felt they’re now in her rearview mirror. San Diego itself also helped her cause. “It clicked,” Krejcikova said about her connection with this tranquil and accessible metropolis.

True to the spirit of a city teeming with hospitable beaches, during the trophy presentation Krejcikova was also given a surfboard. Typically, these gifts are sent to the player’s home. But with the next edition of this tournament set to take place quite soon in February, just prior to the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Krejcikova was asked if she’d prefer the surfboard be kept in San Diego. Her answer: “It’s a secret.” Indeed, choosing what to do with the surfboard is something Krejcikova can control. And, as is mandatory when surfing, the victories in both singles and doubles demonstrate superb balance. Long may Krejcikova ride the wave.