Krejcikova banishes nightmare season with dream Wimbledon win

Mumbai: A day before her Wimbledon final against Jasmine Paolini, Barbora Krejcikova decided to have a quick Q & A session with her followers on social media. She had taken time out for a similar interaction three days earlier as well. Describing herself as a calm person, the 28-year-old spoke about her favourite players, enjoying Coldplay’s music, and a lot more. She was anything but short of words.

Standing in the middle of Centre Court on Saturday though, Krejcikova was almost speechless. Moments earlier, she had completed a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 victory to claim her first Wimbledon and second Grand Slam singles title. “It’s unreal what just happened,” she managed to say. “It’s definitely the best day of my tennis career and also the best day of my life.”

Looking back at the torrid six months she had endured, one could sense the relief and elation. From struggling to get out of bed due to a back injury to being sidelined again with the flu and then losing her first match in four tournaments in a row – Krejcikova had gone through the toughest phase of her career. She had 10 doubles majors to her name, besides the singles triumph at Roland Garros in 2021, and one would’ve thought she was at the right age to find her peak. The relentless setbacks, however, left her wondering if the best days were behind her.

But over the past two weeks at the All England Club, the lego-loving Czech managed to piece together an unbelievable, as she herself described it, run to the title. She became the fourth woman in the Open Era from her country, after her mentor, the late Jana Novotna, Petra Kvitova and Marketa Vondrousova, to emerge as champion at Wimbledon. For the eighth year in a row, a different champion’s name was added to the Venus Rosewater Dish.

“I cannot believe it,” said Krejcikova. “I had a very tough first match here and wasn’t in good shape before that because I was injured and ill. I didn’t have a good season and it’s unbelievable that I’m standing here as the Wimbledon champion. How did this happen?”

On the other side of the net on Saturday was someone whose journey this year had been just as fascinating. Paolini, also 28, had become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2016 to reach the French Open and Wimbledon final in the same season. And before reaching the Australian Open fourth round this year, she had never gone past the second round at a Grand Slam in 16 attempts.

Merely 35 minutes into the contest, it seemed Paolini was in for a one-sided defeat, similar to the one she endured against Iga Swiatek in Paris a couple of months ago. Krejcikova, high on confidence after knocking out fourth seed and 2022 champion Elena Rybakina, dominated with her forehand and missed just two first serves to race through the opening set.

But Paolini, who had earned a thrilling comeback win in the semi-finals herself, wasn’t going to be blown away this time. The Italian seventh seed began dictating play with her forehand and used her incredible movement, which is arguably her biggest strength, to gain momentum.

Krejcikova hit a string of uncharacteristic errors and seemed rattled heading into the decider. But as was the case against Rybakina, she managed to hold her nerves when it mattered the most. She had a 11-1 record in all Slam finals and used her experience to play percentage tennis and draw mistakes from her opponent. From 3-3, she got the decisive break, and despite facing two break points while serving for the match, she managed to convert her third championship point.

As she stood with her trophy after jokingly hesitating to touch it initially, Krejcikova remembered her inspiration and mentor. Novotna, who had won Wimbledon in 1998, was the one a young Krejcikova and her mother had approached for coaching. Novotna had taken her under her wings and shaped her career.

“Going to Jana changed my life,” said Krejcikova, who is set to re-enter the top 10 in the rankings. “After playing juniors, I wasn’t sure about going pro but she told me I had the potential. She always wanted me to win a Slam, which I did in Paris. That was an unbelievable moment for me but I never imagined winning the same trophy as she did.”