BARBORA KREJCIKOVA of the Czech Republic defeated Italy’s Jasmine Paolini to win the Wimbledon women’s title on Saturday for her second Grand Slam singles triumph.
Krejcikova, the 31st seed, won 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to add the 2024 All England Club crown to her 2021 French Open victory.
Her win comes 26 years after her mentor Jana Novotna, who died in 2017, claimed the Wimbledon title.
The result meant seventh-seeded Paolini had lost two Grand Slam finals back-to-back after coming off second-best to Iga Swiatek at the French Open last month.
Krejcikova set the tone immediately by breaking the Italian in the opening game and backing up the advantage with a hold to love.
Paolini had to save two break points in the third game but she cracked under the strain again as the composed Czech stormed into a double-break ahead for 4-1.
Krejcikova moved to three set points in the eighth game and only needed one as Paolini dumped a backhand return into the net.
The nerve-wracked Italian managed to claim just four points on the Czech’s serve in the 35-minute opener. Krejcikova hit 10 winners to the Italian’s five.
Paolini dashed off Centre Court for a bathroom break and returned re-energised.
She had also dropped the first set in her marathon semi-final triumph over Donna Vekic and on Saturday she launched another second-set fightback.
Breaks in the second and eighth games levelled the final after a set in which Krejcikova made 14 unforced errors to seven for her opponent and took her double-fault count to a tournament-high of 33.
The Czech managed just four winners in the set as she went spectacularly off the boil.
However, momentum shifted dramatically back in her favour in the decider when Paolini double-faulted to surrender a break and fall 3-4 behind.
Krejcikova held to love for 5-3 but endured a nervy conclusion, requiring three championship points and saving two break points in the 10th game to seal the title.
Written by AFP and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.
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