Barbora Krejcikova defeated Jasmine Paolini on Saturday to win the second Grand Slam singles title of her career.
Krejcikova needed three match points to overcome a fierce fightback from Paolini but ultimately beat the Italian tennis star 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 in the Wimbledon women’s final in London.
Speaking immediately after winning the prestigious title for the first time, Krejcikova said she hoped her victory at the All England Club would have made the late Jana Novotna proud.
“The only thing going through my mind was how much I miss Yana,” Krechkova said of the moment. “It was very, very emotional. … I think Yana would be proud.”
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Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic poses with the singles trophy after her win against Jasmine Paolini of Italy during Wimbledon 2024 at the British Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 13, 2024 in London, England. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Krejcikova grew up looking up to Novotná, the 1998 Wimbledon champion. Novotná and Krejcikova are both from the Czech Republic. Novotná once encouraged Krejcikova to continue playing tennis and predicted that she would one day win a Grand Slam title.
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Even after winning on her third match point, Krejcikova insisted that no one – not her friends, family or even herself – believed what she had achieved. After all, belief was relatively unlikely, given that she had been plagued by back injuries and illness this season and was 7-9 going into the 2024 grass-court majors.
Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic celebrates after winning a match point against Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan during the Wimbledon 2024 singles semi-final at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, July 11, 2024. (Francois Nel/Getty Images)
Krejcikova is the eighth woman to win Wimbledon in the past eight tournaments. Last year’s winner, unseeded Marketa Vondrousova, also from the Czech Republic, lost in the first round last week.
Paolini, who finished runner-up to Iga Swiantek at last month’s French Open, is the first woman to reach the French Open and Wimbledon finals in the same season since Serena Williams in 2016 and the first woman to lose in both tournaments since Venus Williams in 2002.
“If we can maintain this level, I think we have a chance to achieve great things,” Paolini said.
Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic (left) lifts the trophy after defeating Jasmine Paolini of Italy (right) during the women’s singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
This was a very evenly matched fight.
The final game, unsurprisingly, took 14 points to decide, with Krejcikova having to fend off two break chances before finally converting her third match point when Paolini missed a backhand.
“I just told myself to be brave,” said Krejcikova, a seven-time Grand Slam doubles champion and three-time mixed doubles champion, including two at Wimbledon.
At the trophy ceremony, Krejcikova spoke about the impact Novotna has had on her tennis career and life in general, just as she did after winning the singles title in Paris in 2021.
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The reporter asked what Krejcikova would like to say to Novotna now that they are both Wimbledon champions.
“Well, I think I can turn it around,” Krejcikova said with a smile. “I’d love to hear what she says.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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