Katerina Siniakova saves three match points to win longest WTA final of 2023

Only one Czech was going to come out on top in Sunday’s Jiangxi Open final, and after a staggering three hours and 32 minutes, that was Katerina Siniakova.

The former doubles world No. 1 captured the fifth WTA singles title of her career, and second this year, in the most arduous of fashions: She saved three championship points against compatriot Marie Bouzkova in the sixth-longest match of 2023, 1-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4).

"It was a really tough and big battle," Siniakova said after her win, per the WTA website. “I’m really excited and proud I kept fighting until the end.

"It’s really tough, and sad that just one can win because both of us just left everything out there."

Trailing 6-1, 4-2, Siniakova saved Bouzkova’s first match point at 5-3 in the second set, and pushed the match the distance despite failing to convert any of the four set points she had in the 12th game. In the third set, Bouzkova had leads of 3-1, 40-0 and 5-3, when the had her other two match points.

Siniakova also won on grass in Bad Homburg, Germany in June, and finished runner-up to 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez in Hong Kong last week in three sets. She got revenge on Fernandez five days later with a 7-5, 6-5 win in the Nanchang semifinals.