Barbora Krejcikova vs. Anna-Lena Friedsam — Singapore 2026 First-Round Match Report
For one set, it looked almost cruelly easy.
For the next two, Barbora Krejcikova was dragged into a fight that came within two points of becoming one of the bigger upsets of the Singapore Open.
The former World No. 2 survived Anna-Lena Friedsam 6-0, 5-7, 7-6(4) after the world No. 266 served for the match and held two match points in the deciding set.
That Friedsam pushed the world No. 44 this close was already striking. The contrast in recent career achievements made it even more so. Krejcikova won Wimbledon in 2024 and added another title this season in Athens, where she defeated Maria Sakkari in the final.
None of that helped her once Friedsam recovered from a disastrous opening set.
What began as a rout became a two-hour battle of nerve, swings and missed chances before Krejcikova finally escaped in the deciding tiebreak.
Krejcikova Opens With a Bagel
The first set could hardly have been more one-sided.
Krejcikova broke immediately, held for 2-0 and broke again for 3-0. Friedsam never found a service game she could protect.
Another hold made it 4-0 before Krejcikova collected a third break for 5-0.
She then served out the set 6-0.
Friedsam had lost all three of her service games and had not created enough resistance on return to slow the former Wimbledon champion.
From there, though, the match changed completely.
Set 1 at a Glance
- Krejcikova ran away with dominance, out-winning Friedsam 8-to-3 on winners while committing less than a quarter of the unforced errors (3 vs. 14).
- Friedsam couldn’t buy a hold: she saved just 1 of 4 break points and won only 20% of her total service points (3/15), losing her serve all three times she stepped up to it.
- Krejcikova was untouchable on return, winning 78% of first-return points and 83% of second-return points, converting 3 of her 4 break-point chances to seal a lopsided 25-9 total points advantage.
Full Set 1 Stats
| Krejcikova | Statistic | Friedsam |
|---|---|---|
| Set 1 Duration: 0h30m | ||
| 2.53 | Dominance Ratio | 0.39 |
| 8 | Winners | 3 |
| 3 | Unforced Errors | 14 |
| 284 | Serve Rating | 98 |
| 0 | Aces | 0 |
| 0 | Double Faults | 1 |
| 47% (9/19) | 1st Serve % | 60% (9/15) |
| 67% (6/9) | 1st Serve Points Won | 22% (2/9) |
| 70% (7/10) | 2nd Serve Points Won | 17% (1/6) |
| 100% (1/1) | Break Points Saved | 25% (1/4) |
| 336 | Return Rating | 63 |
| 78% (7/9) | 1st Return Points Won | 33% (3/9) |
| 83% (5/6) | 2nd Return Points Won | 30% (3/10) |
| 3/4 | Break Points Won | 0/1 |
| 25 | Total Points Won | 9 |
Friedsam Turns the Second Set Around
The German finally got on the scoreboard by holding at the start of the second set.
Krejcikova answered for 1-1, and the pair traded holds through 2-2 before Friedsam moved ahead 3-2.
Then came her first real breakthrough.
Krejcikova dropped serve for 2-4, allowing Friedsam to consolidate for 5-2.
The Czech responded with the kind of recovery that might have ended the resistance altogether. She held for 3-5, broke Friedsam when the German served for the set and then levelled at 5-5.
Instead of folding, Anna-Lena Friedsam steadied herself.
She held for 6-5 and broke Krejcikova in the next game to take the set 7-5.
A match that had started 6-0 was suddenly heading to a decider.
Set 2 at a Glance
- This set flipped on the biggest points: Friedsam won 75% of pressure points (9/12) and 2 of 4 break points, exactly the reversal of Set 1’s script, even though Krejcikova still edged the overall total points 38-36.
- Krejcikova’s serve wobbled — just 52% of first serves landed and she leaked 3 double faults — but she still found 2 aces and stayed efficient on the points she did get in, winning 71% behind her first delivery.
- Both players traded error-strewn tennis (21 unforced errors for Krejcikova, 19 for Friedsam) and winners (12 vs. 8), making this a scrappier, tighter set than the lopsided opener.
Full Set 2 Stats
| Krejcikova | Statistic | Friedsam |
|---|---|---|
| Set 2 Duration: 1h08m | ||
| 1.14 | Dominance Ratio | 0.88 |
| 12 | Winners | 8 |
| 21 | Unforced Errors | 19 |
| 245 | Serve Rating | 265 |
| 2 | Aces | 1 |
| 3 | Double Faults | 2 |
| 52% (17/33) | 1st Serve % | 71% (29/41) |
| 71% (12/17) | 1st Serve Points Won | 62% (18/29) |
| 56% (9/16) | 2nd Serve Points Won | 50% (6/12) |
| 50% (2/4) | Break Points Saved | 67% (2/3) |
| 138 | Return Rating | 156 |
| 38% (11/29) | 1st Return Points Won | 29% (5/17) |
| 50% (6/12) | 2nd Return Points Won | 44% (7/16) |
| 1/3 | Break Points Won | 2/4 |
| 38 | Total Points Won | 36 |
Two Match Points Disappear at 5-3 to the German
The third set was the real test.
Friedsam held for 1-0. Krejcikova answered, and the pattern continued through 2-2.
The first break went to Krejcikova, who moved ahead 3-2.
It did not last.
Friedsam broke straight back for 3-3, held for 4-3 and then struck again to move 5-3 ahead.
Now the world No. 266 was serving for the match.
She got close.
Very close.
Friedsam created two match points in that game, but Krejcikova saved both and eventually broke back for 4-5.
That was the pivotal escape.
Krejcikova held for 5-5, then broke Friedsam to move ahead 6-5 and put herself in position to serve for the match.
The chaos was not finished.
Friedsam broke back for 6-6.
After 12 games and five breaks of serve, the match went to a deciding tiebreak.
Krejcikova Finally Takes Control in the Tiebreak
The tiebreak began evenly enough.
Friedsam took the first point before Krejcikova levelled and then edged ahead 2-1.
A mini-break stretched that advantage to 3-1, but Friedsam recovered and eventually pulled back to 3-3.
From there, Krejcikova found the separation she had been unable to maintain during the set.
She moved ahead 4-3 and then 5-3 before reaching match point at 6-3.
Friedsam saved the first.
Krejcikova did not need a third.
She took the tiebreak 7-4, ending a contest that had looked finished in the opposite direction only minutes earlier.
Set 3 at a Glance
- Krejcikova produced her biggest winner haul of the match (17, nearly double Friedsam’s 9) but also her messiest set on errors (26 unforced), making this the streakiest, highest-variance set of the three.
- Friedsam was clean on serve, firing 2 aces without a single double fault and converting 70% of first serves — yet still lost the set, undone by a 32% return of Krejcikova’s first serve and only saving 40% of break points.
- The set came down to the finest of margins: Krejcikova edged total points 42-39 and pressure points went the other way (Friedsam won 54%), showing she closed it out on bigger swings rather than the tight moments.
Full Set 3 Stats
| Krejcikova | Statistic | Friedsam |
|---|---|---|
| Set 3 Duration: 1h19m | ||
| 1.09 | Dominance Ratio | 0.92 |
| 17 | Winners | 9 |
| 26 | Unforced Errors | 16 |
| 210 | Serve Rating | 224 |
| 2 | Aces | 2 |
| 2 | Double Faults | 0 |
| 59% (22/37) | 1st Serve % | 70% (31/44) |
| 68% (15/22) | 1st Serve Points Won | 48% (15/31) |
| 33% (5/15) | 2nd Serve Points Won | 54% (7/13) |
| 25% (1/4) | Break Points Saved | 40% (2/5) |
| 208 | Return Rating | 224 |
| 52% (16/31) | 1st Return Points Won | 32% (7/22) |
| 46% (6/13) | 2nd Return Points Won | 67% (10/15) |
| 3/5 | Break Points Won | 3/4 |
| 42 | Total Points Won | 39 |
The Numbers Show Why the Match Swung So Wildly
Krejcikova finished with the stronger overall statistical profile, but neither player produced a particularly clean match.
The Czech hit 37 winners, almost twice Friedsam’s 20.
She also committed 50 unforced errors.
Friedsam made 49.
That combination explains the volatility: plenty of attacking intent, but very little sustained control.
Krejcikova’s dominance ratio finished at 1.30, compared with 0.77 for Friedsam.
Her first serve also did considerably more damage. She won 69 percent of first-serve points, while Friedsam managed only 50 percent despite landing a much higher proportion of first deliveries.
Friedsam put 70 percent of first serves in court.
Krejcikova made just 54 percent.
Quality after the serve mattered more than quantity.
Krejcikova Attacks Friedsam’s First Serve
The return numbers reveal one of the largest differences between them.
Krejcikova won 50 percent of Friedsam’s first-serve points.
Friedsam managed only 31 percent against Krejcikova’s first delivery.
That allowed the Czech to break seven times from 12 opportunities, while Friedsam converted five of nine.
Across the match, Krejcikova won 105 of 189 points, a 56 percent share.
Friedsam took 84.
Yet the pressure points tell a much more uncomfortable story for the winner.
Friedsam won 17 of 31 pressure points, compared with 14 for Krejcikova.
That helps explain how the world No. 266 remained alive long after the broader statistics suggested Krejcikova should have been in control.
Friedsam kept finding ways to make the biggest moments awkward.
She simply could not convert the two that would have ended the match.
Full Match Stats
| Krejcikova | Statistic | Friedsam |
|---|---|---|
| Full Match Duration: 2h59m | ||
| 1.30 | Dominance Ratio | 0.77 |
| 37 | Winners | 20 |
| 50 | Unforced Errors | 49 |
| 240 | Serve Rating | 220 |
| 4 | Aces | 3 |
| 5 | Double Faults | 3 |
| 54% (48/89) | 1st Serve % | 70% (70/100) |
| 69% (33/48) | 1st Serve Points Won | 50% (35/70) |
| 51% (21/41) | 2nd Serve Points Won | 47% (14/30) |
| 44% (4/9) | Break Points Saved | 42% (5/12) |
| 208 | Return Rating | 169 |
| 50% (35/70) | 1st Return Points Won | 31% (15/48) |
| 53% (16/30) | 2nd Return Points Won | 49% (20/41) |
| 7/12 | Break Points Won | 5/9 |
| 105 | Total Points Won | 84 |
Friedsam Comes Within Two Points of a Major Upset
At No. 266 in the world, Friedsam entered this match with little on paper pointing toward a near-upset of a former World No. 2.
After losing the opening set 6-0, even less did.
Yet she turned the match around through persistence rather than any dramatic statistical superiority. She began holding serve, found a way into Krejcikova’s delivery and refused to let the first set define the rest of the contest.
By 5-3 in the third, she had transformed a potential humiliation into a genuine chance to beat a player ranked more than 200 places above her.
Two match points came and went.
That will hurt.
But the performance itself deserves more than being reduced to a missed opportunity. Friedsam forced a reigning title winner from Athens and the 2024 Wimbledon champion to find another level just to survive the opening round.
Krejcikova Escapes, but Not Comfortably
Krejcikova’s tennis fluctuated wildly, but when the match reached its most dangerous point, she found enough precision and nerve to stay alive.
Friedsam came within touching distance of turning No. 266 into the number everyone would have been talking about.
Instead, in front of an enthusiastic crowd at the OCBC Arena, Krejcikova survived Singapore’s first serious scare with her tournament still intact.
She will play Elise Mertens next.