Nothing about the quarterfinal match at the 2026 Athens Open between Zheng Qinwen and Barbora Krejcikova could be assured. The Chinese player, for instance, raced to a 3-0 first-set lead and appeared ready to take the entire match easily. That's when things changed.
Zheng was broken in her next two games, and Krejcikova suddenly led 4-3 and would take the set 6-4. She certainly began playing better, but Zheng's form also dipped massively. If Krejcikova needed any help in making her comeback, Zheng was there to do so.
The 2024 Olympic gold medal winner started missing on her first serve with regularity, landing just 46 percent for the set. She faced six break points total and fought off four of them.
Barbora Krejcikova defeats Zheng Qinwen at the 2026 Athens Open
Still, Krejcikova could have made the set much easier on herself. She dominated from the midway point with her first serve, but if she didn't land that, she didn't win on her second, taking only two of the 10 points she faced. The match had become moments of brilliance by each player followed by long stretches of being terrible.
The second set would follow the same trend, though. Zheng led 2-0, but after she was broken for a second time in set two, she found herself down 3-4. She wasn't playing horribly throughout, though that might have made the entire match more frustrating. She could have moved into the semifinals with a solid performance. Instead, she was only solid enough to keep losing tough games.
Serving at 3-5 and trying to stay in the match, Zheng gave Krejcikova a couple of match points on double faults, only to hold on with a well-constructed point. She played well enough to beat the 2024 Wimbledon winner at times, and then played poorly enough to get defeated by most players on the WTA tour at other times.
Not that Krejcikova was playing so well that she would have beaten many other players herself, but she was making fewer errors on her own serve. When she absolutely needed a point, she normally came through. In the end, she was just good enough to take the second set 6-4.
Up next for Barbora Krejcikova in the semifinals of the 2026 Athens Open will be the winner of the match between Clara Tauson and Sara Bejlek. Tauson is the top seed at the event, while fan-favorite Maria Sakkari remains in play in another quarterfinal match.
