By Marc McGowan
Barbora Krejcikova said early last year she did not want to be forgotten.
Amid talk of a “Big Three” on the women’s tour – world No.1 Iga Swiatek, dual Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka and 2022 Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina – Krejcikova felt she was being overlooked.
Barbora Krejcikova of Czechia lifts the trophy following victory against Jasmine Paolini of Italy.Credit: Getty Images
There is no danger of that now, with Krejcikova becoming the fifth Czech woman to win the Wimbledon singles title in the Open Era, behind Martina Navratilova (representing the United States), her late former coach Jana Novotna, Petra Kvitova and Marketa Vondrousova.
The seesawing 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 triumph over late-blooming Italian Jasmine Paolini – who also lost last month’s Roland-Garros final to Swiatek – delivered Krejcikova’s second major title, following her 2021 victory in Paris.
Previously ranked as high as No.2 but playing at Wimbledon as the world’s 32nd-best player because of injuries and illness, Krejcikova will be back inside the top 10 on Monday.
“It’s just unreal, what just happened. This is definitely the best day of my tennis career and also the best day of my life,” Krejcikova said.
“I would like to congratulate Jasmine and her team. She had a great two weeks … at the end I was the lucky one, but she played in the Roland-Garros final a couple of weeks ago, so it’s amazing what she achieved in such a short period.
Jasmine Paolini plays a forehand return to Barbora Krejcikova.Credit: AP
“I think nobody [in Czech Republic] believes it, that I got to the final, and nobody will believe I won Wimbledon – I still cannot believe it, it’s unbelievable.
“I had a very long first-round match – three hours, 14 minutes, 7-5 in the third set – and I was really not in good shape before that because I was injured, and didn’t really have a good start to the season. It’s unbelievable that I’m standing here.”
Navratilova was in the stands to watch her fellow Czech join her as a Wimbledon champion, but it was Novotna who had an enduring influence, from the time a teenage Krejcikova and her mother knocked on her door asking for advice.
There were emotional scenes post-final when Krejcikova, with Wimbledon chair Debbie Jevans, saw her name alongside Novotna’s on the honour board.
“Everything that happened in that moment definitely changed my tennis life,” Krejcikova said.
“When I finished uni, I didn’t know what to do … Jana was the one who told me I had the potential and should definitely turn pro and try to make it. Before she passed away, she told me to go and win a slam, and I achieved that. I never really dreamed I would win the same trophy that Jana did in 1998.”
Krejcikova not only battling her opponent on Saturday but also regularly a pro-Paolini crowd who vigorously latched onto the Italian as soon as she started slowly.
She had to recover mentally at the start of the final set after drowning in a sea of errors as Paolini’s mid-match resurgence threatened to snatch the title from her grasp, then again as she wobbled with the finish line in sight.
The Czech had to recover mentally at the start of the final set after drowning in a sea of errors as Paolini made a mid-match resurgence.Credit: Getty Images
Twice Krejcikova staved off break-back points while trying to serve out the final, only to produce two of her best points for the match. She knocked off a volley on the first, then bravely clipped the sideline with a forehand – surviving a Paolini challenge – to save the second.
They ultimately proved more decisive than Krejcikova’s wild backhands that almost gave Paolini another life. On the Czech’s third match point, she finally saw off her determined rival to spark celebrations.
Krejcikova navigated her way to her player box after a false start – firstly sharing a moment with Paolini’s support crew, then skipping into her own team’s area, where she was buried in an emotion-charged bearhug.
Earlier, Paolini risked being blown away in back-to-back slam finals after Krejcikova raced through the opening set for the loss of only two games and 19 points.
The popular Italian lost five of the first six games, and quickly became the favourite in a London crowd baying for a competitive final. They roared with glee after Krejcikova’s unforced errors and even her back-to-back double faults to start the third game of the second set.
Paolini did not seem particularly nervous in the early going, and she stuck with the aggression that has been the key to her breakout season, but Krejcikova’s efficiency served her wonderfully in an almost-flawless opening set.
Krejcikova sent down more double faults than any other woman at this tournament, but missed only two first serves in the opening set and conceded just three of those points.
That pace was always going to be tough for her to maintain, but the manner of her collapse in the second set was still surprising. Perhaps, Krejcikova’s mind began racing about what she was on the verge of achieving.
Krejcikova enjoyed a special moment with her team after winning the Wimbledon title.Credit: AP
Paolini’s wristy wind-up on her forehand started poking holes in her rival’s defences, but Krejcikova did not help her cause with a series of loose errors that never looked like happening a set earlier.
Not even a fluffed overhead from Paolini could halt her momentum, after which she dropped to the centre court turf in embarrassment and grinned, as only she can.
That gave Krejcikova the chance to break back, but Paolini wriggled clear for a 3-0 lead, and soon enough had forced a final set where they finally met in the middle after two lopsided sets.
The first big moments arrived in the seventh game after both players traded holds up until that stage. Paolini fell in an 0-30 hole, then staved off a break point in typically gutsy fashion before letting go a guttural roar.
It was only a brief reprieve. On the next break point, Paolini unsuccessfully challenged a first-serve fault, then sent down her only double fault of the match to fall behind for the first time since the opening set.
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