“The best day of my life” – Krejcikova defeats Paolini to win Wimbledon
Barbora Krejcikova won her second Grand Slam title in a fine final against Jasmine Paolini
Barbora Krejcikova after winning Wimbledon (Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP/SIPA)
“It is the best day of my tennis career, and also the best day of my life.”
Barbora Krejcikova beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to lift the Wimbledon trophy for the first time – emulating her mentor, the late Jana Novotna. It was no wonder that immediately after the match she said it was her new highlight.
Going into the match, Krejcikova knew that she had won their only previous meeting, in qualifying at 2018 Australian Open.
She was also the one with Slam champion experience, having won in her first final at Roland-Garros in 2021. After that win, she rose as high as world No 2, but a nagging arm injury hampered her progress, followed by an ankle injury in 2023.
However, when it came to playing on grass, it was not her most comfortable surface. Prior to this year, her previous best result had been the round of 16 in 2021. Indeed, this year’s campaign in SW19 was the first time she had won more than six matches in a row on grass.
Simple first set for Krejcikova
It was a relatively simple first set for Krejcikova, who sealed it with a hold to love. The crowd were getting behind Paolini and urging her on after just five minutes, when her opponent had already taken a 2-0 lead, but although she managed to get on the board she could muster no real challenge.
But in the second, where Krejcikova had been solid on serve and Paolini had struggled to get her forehand firing, the situation was reversed. The Czech could not get her ball toss right and served several faults; the Italian was sending winners fizzing down the line, racing to a 3-1 lead and taking the set 6-2.
The decider began entirely on serve, and turned in the sixth game, when Krejcikova held but it transpired that had Paolini challenged the final point, she would have been successful.
Krejcikova then broke in the next game, with Paolini finishing on a double fault, meaning the Czech was ahead in the decider for the first time, 4-3.
Paolini saves championship points
Paolini – the first Italian woman to reach the Wimbledon final in the Open Era – was not going to give up easily. She asked Krejcikova the serve-it-out question and saved two championship points but ultimately fell just short.
Krejcikova thus became the sixth player in the Open Era to win their first Ladies’ Singles title in Wimbledon after having turned 28, following Ann Jones (1969), Virginia Wade (1977), Novotna (1998), Marion Bartoli (2013) and Angelique Kerber (2018).
Paolini can be proud of reaching her second straight Grand Slam final this year having not even made a quarter-final previously.
