Aryna Sabalenka suffered her first loss of the year after thirteen wins. The Belarusian tennis star lost to Barbora Krejikova in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Championships. The Czech won in three sets: 0-6, 7-6 (2), 6-1. Sabalenka had kicked off the year with a win at the Adelaide Championships, followed by a Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.
In front of Krejcikova, the world number two still leads 6-0, 3-1 before the match turns completely in favor of the Czech Republic, who will face American Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals.
The 24-year-old Sabalenka is now traveling to her hometown of Miami and hopes to start a new winning streak at Indian Wells. “Maybe I’m getting a little less attention now. It doesn’t matter, Barbora deserved to win today. I’m going to work hard again and hopefully get a better result in Indian Wells.”
Poland’s Iga Swiatek, ranked No. 1 in the world, is still in the tournament. “I hope to meet her again in the final,” Sabalenka said. Her victory at the Australian Open meant her first Grand Slam title.
