Barbora Krejcikova completes an emotional journey back to Grand Slam champion

More than three years and 13 Grand Slam appearances later, Krejcikova once again found herself a surprise finalist – and delivered again. The 28-year-old from the Czech Republic added his second Grand Slam singles troupe on tennis’ biggest stage Saturday by defeating Jasmine Paolini, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, on Center Court at the All England Club.

This victory made Krejcikova cry as she repeated to the crowd that she did not believe that she was the Wimbledon champion. This brought tears to the eyes of Martina Navratilova, the Czechoslovak legend who won a record nine times here and was the first to see Krejcikova win.

“Somewhere inside me, I hoped I could win,” said Krejcikova. But I didn’t know until the last point.

The flood of tears didn’t come until Krejcikova was off the court, looking at a board listing the players’ names and seeing her own and that of her former coach, Jana Novotna, whose advice Krejcikova sought at work when he sent the 1998 Wimbledon champion a letter. like an 18-year-old at a crossroads.

Novotna and Krejcikova met for the first time a week after she sent the letter, and Novotna eventually opened up a world of opportunity for her young mentor. Krejcikova had long poured out her tennis dreams of winning the French Open, and as soon as Novotna began to share her memories of the torture and triumph of playing grass and the feeling of winning the trophy Krejcikova went began to think of Wimbledon as “the greatest game in the world.”

They worked together for about three years, until Novotna died of cancer in 2017 at the age of 49.

“Jana is the one who told me that I have the ability and [to] definitely turn pro and try to do it. Before he died, he told me that I was going to win the Slam,” Krejcikova said. “I achieved that already in Paris in 2021, and it was an amazing moment for me. I never dreamed that I would win the same trophy as Jana.”

Krejcikova said she thought she did her mentor proud with the determination she showed with a tight, quality final set. Asked if she ever found herself chatting with Novotna in her head as she picked opponent after opponent at Wimbledon, Krejcikova responded immediately.

“I dream about him a lot,” he said. “… We speak in dreams.”

Novotna may also have been proud of Krejcikova’s confidence to reach the final first. He had won just three matches between his Australian Open quarter-final exit and Wimbledon debut.

No No. 1 seed. 31 Krejcikova or No. 7 seed Paolini was among the expected finalists when the tournament began, although Paolini made a run to the final of the French Open last month. The Italian’s success at Roland Garros was so impressive – and women’s tennis can still be unpredictable at the majors – that her Grand Slam success could be over in the blink of an eye. Paolini arrived in London without first achieving a successful tour last week.

His stay at the All England Club always seemed to get off to an inauspicious start. Two years ago, she drew two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the first round, and losing those matches, albeit in three sets, distorted her view of her potential. home of the grass court.

Earlier that week, Paolini said: “I didn’t believe that much.

But his confidence grew all around, and he defeated many top-50 players on his way to the final: No. 37 Donna Vekic in the semifinals, No. 17 Emma Navarro in the quarterfinals and No. 13 Madison Keys, who retired with a leg injury in the tail end of a tight, three-set match in the fourth round.

Accidents and frustration were the main features of the competition. As week two began, Paolini was one of three top 10 seeds remaining in the women’s singles. With the top three seeds out, Krejcikova won the No. 4 seed Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, in the semifinals to book her final ticket.

For Krejcikova, who has won 10 Grand Slam doubles titles including her doubles, it has been a long road back to the championship game. She has made 13 Grand Slam appearances between her win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at Roland Garros in 2021 and Saturday’s final. Only three players have made the minimum since the Open Age began in 1968: Mary Pierce had 20 major matches between finals, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario had 19, and Svetlana Kuznetsova had 18.

Krejcikova took the first set in 35 minutes, her doubles ability on display as she wielded her racket like a chisel, injecting the game with geometry and masterfully maneuvering Paolini. The Italian had delighted the crowd last week and was on his side again. But Paolini got off to a solid start, and Krejcikova’s sense of business got the better of her at the start – she served perfectly and was the antagonist of the entire opening set.

“He takes really good angles on shots,” Paolini said. “He is a very complete player. You’re very nice.”

Paolini left the court before the second set and returned with a more attacking mindset, moving forward and pressuring Krejcikova to swing serve. The Czech player had served 31 double faults entering the match, more than any other player during the tournament, and that flurry came when he was broken early and allowed Paolini to find a groove.

The third set was the toughest until Krejcikova used some giant forehands to generate her first break points and Paolini double-faulted to give her a 4-3 lead. Krejcikova held to love going into the match and won her third point of the championship with a big serve from Paolini.

“I have no words right now. It’s an unbelievable thing that just happened – it’s really the best day of my tennis career,” Krejcikova said, “and the happiest day of my life.”