The 21-year-old Warsaw native continues to lead the world rankings by a wide margin, and she arrived in California’s Indian Wells for the so-called “fifth Grand Slam” to defend last year’s title as the clear favourite. But with damaged pride.

Barbora Krejčíková stunned the utterly dominant and loser Pole in the final in the previous “thousand race” in Dubai.

“I understand that some of you expect more from me, but at the end of the day… I’m only human,” Šwiateková said on the network after the fairly obvious loss, adding the hashtag “I’m not a robot”.

Immediately after Krejčíková’s last concert, the world of tennis began to analyze in detail and analyze the consequences of what happened at the end of the Dubai event.

The Czech won against favorite Poland for the second time in a row, in the fall she was able to beat him in one of the best matches of the whole season in the Ostrava final. Eurosport and the Tennis Podcast independently use the word “kryptonite”, a fictitious chemical element that is the only way to limit Superman’s comic book powers.

According to the review, Krejčíková is the only tennis player who can have a proven recipe for the queen of world tennis.

“Iga Šwiateková can be described as a great problem solver. But now he is starting to face the biggest problem which, from his point of view, needs to be solved,” wrote Eurosport.

The Poles have played in fifteen finals in recent years and have only failed three times. In her first fight for the title in April 2019 with Slovenian Polona Hercogová and then only against tennis player Ivančice.

“To succeed against someone like Iga you have to suffer on the pitch. And I don’t mind,” Krejčíková offered his signature guide to Šwiateková.

But it is far from just suffering and aggressiveness. The Czech team’s game plan worked, they had full control of the match, they showed courage and resilience. He outperformed the world number one in all aspects and put him in a psychologically complex state of mind, unknown to the Poles these days.

“A lot of female opponents feel beaten before her because of her aura, but Krejčíková is anything but. I’ve probably never seen Iga so confused and unbalanced in a big duel,” Matt Roberts said on the Tennis Podcast, stating that Polka’s uncertainty was due to the play’s particular expression. Czech.

“Krejčíková feels very comfortable playing the bully. Everyone brings a mental load to previous matches with Iga, but he proved otherwise. It’s a man’s confidence,” added Amazon Prime’s Catherine Whitaker.

According to experts, Krejčíková rocked events among the elite on the WTA circuit.

“Šwiateková didn’t lose almost any game, it seemed like she had no competition. But now it’s clear that someone has appeared who Polka definitely doesn’t want to see in the spider again,” said Roberts.

Thanks to his showing in Dubai, where he defeated three of the best players in the world and earned the second most valuable title of his career, Krejčíková ranks among the biggest favorites for March’s tournament at Indian Wells and Miami.

“He doesn’t have great strength, but he is very complex and clever. His punches are even, his swings are very fast, it’s like he’s not holding a racket but a lightsaber. He’s not panicking, he’s still playing his game, which he believes in.” David Law of the British BBC praised the Czech Republic.

“I think even though she’s won a Grand Slam in singles and a lot in doubles, we still don’t realize how good she really is. When she’s at her best, she’s one of the best players in the world,” added Roberts.

Plus, twenty-seven-year-old Krejčíková tackles the biggest duels with ease. She won six of the last seven finals on the WTA circuit. Since 2020, only two players have won more titles: Šwiateková twelve and Aryna Sabalenková seven.

He will be the 16th seed at Indian Wells, which starts on Wednesday, and will be in a free draw in the first round. In the second round, the Czech will face the winner of the match between Dajana Jastremska of Ukraine and Anna Bondárová of Hungary.