- I hung in there and fought.
There wasn't much I could do because she played so well.
I tried to keep up with her pace and maybe I became a little more aggressive, says Krejcikova to the WTA website.
She also thanked the Czech fans on the spot and gave them a few words in their native language - without wanting to translate the conversation at the runway interview.
It was the first time since Timea Bacsinszky beat Sara Errani at the Beijing WTA-1000 tournament in 2015 that a player managed to do so in a quarter-final at such a high level after losing the first set 6-0.
First loss of the year for Sabalenka
Krejcikova also handed Australian Open winner Sabalenka her first loss of the year.
Sabalenka also had a break up at 3-1 in the second set.
Jessica Pegula is waiting for Krejcikova in the semi-finals.
In the second, world number one Iga Swiatek and Cori Gauff meet in the high-class tournament where the winner takes home SEK 5.5 million.