Czech tennis player Barbora Krejcikova defeated Italian player Jasmine Paolini to win the Wimbledon title, her second Grand Slam women’s singles title, Saturday (13/7).
The world number 32 said she never dreamed of holding the same title as her late mentor, Jana Novotna, who paved her way to professional tennis.
Novotna was the 1998 Wimbledon champion. She was Krejcikova’s former friend, coach and mentor who died of cancer at the age of 49 in 2017.
“Jana was the one who told me that I had potential. And before she died, she told me to win a grand slam. I never dreamed that I would win the same trophy that Jana won in 1998,” Krejcikova said.
Krecikova explained how Novotna played a huge role in her career and saw Wimbledon as the ultimate goal in tennis.
“To be honest, maybe it changed a little bit when I met Jana and she told me all the stories regarding Wimbledon, regarding the grass, how hard it was for her to win the title, and how emotional she was when she did it. From that moment on, I started to see Wimbledon as the biggest tournament in the world.”
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Krejcikova, the 31st seed, won 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to add a Grand Slam title from the 2024 All England Club to her triumph at the 2021 French Open.
In the match notes, Krejcikova set the pace by breaking Paolini’s serve straight away in the opening game.
Paolini had to save two break points in the third game but was once more under pressure as a composed Krejcikova converted a double-break to lead 4-1.
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Krejcikova had three set points in the eighth game and needed only one when Paolini netted a backhand.
Paolini was only able to claim four points on the Czech’s serve. Krejcikova hit 10 winners to her opponent’s five.
Paolini ran off Centre Court for a bathroom break and returned in good spirits.
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She also dropped the first set in her marathon semifinal win over Donna Vekic, but she fought back in the second.
Breaks in the second and eighth games levelled the final following a set in which Krejcikova made 14 unforced errors to her opponent’s seven, and committed a tournament-high 33 double faults.
However, the momentum shifted dramatically back in Krejcikova’s favour in the decider when Paolini double-faulted to give up the match and go down 3-4.
Krejcikova held on to a 5-3 lead but endured a tense ending, needing three points and saving two break points in the 10th game to seal the title.
“I have no words. It’s unbelievable what just happened. The best day of my tennis career — and the best day of my life,” Krejcikova said in a post-match on-court interview.
“It’s very difficult to explain what I feel right now.” (Ant/Theguardian/P-5)
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