Barbora Krejčíková defeated Qinwen Zheng 6-4, 6-4 at the WTA Athens, capitalising on her dominant first serve – winning 76% of those points – and breaking four times to overcome an early deficit in each set.
In the first set, Zheng broke for a 0-2 lead in game 2, but Krejčíková replied immediately with a break in game 5 (2-3) and broke again at 4-3 to take the opener. The second set followed a similar pattern: Zheng broke for 0-2, Krejčíková broke back in game 3 (1-2), then broke once more in game 7 (4-3) to serve out the match.
Krejčíková’s first-serve return points won (46% to Zheng’s 24%) and her 60% break-points saved proved decisive. Zheng struggled with her first-serve percentage (46%) and despite hitting four aces, she could not hold off Krejčíková’s relentless pressure.