Krejčíková continues best Wimbledon run all way to final
Barbora Krejčíková has one Grand Slam singles title to her name but until this week had never got past the round of 16 at Wimbledon. That has changed spectacularly this week, with the Czech getting all the way to the final at the All England Club.
Barbora Krejčíková was previously a doubles specialist and is a former world doubles number one. She has won all the Grand Slams in doubles and has seven such titles in total.
In recent years the 28-year-old has also enjoyed great success in singles, winning the French Open three years ago and at one point reaching second in the singles world rankings.
Until now Wimbledon has not been a happy hunting ground for Krejčíková in singles and it was only this week she got past the round of 16 at the All England Club for the first time ever.
However, that run reached a fresh climax on Thursday, when the Brno-born player came from a set down to beat Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, who won the tournament two years ago, 3-6 6-3 6-4.
In her on-court interview after the game, Krejčíková paid an emotional tribute the late Czech tennis great Jana Novotná, who coached her a decade ago.
Krejčíková said that Novotná, who died in 2017 at just 49, had told her about her own experiences at Wimbledon, a tournament she eventually won in 1998.
“I remember thinking about her a lot,” she said. “I have so many beautiful memories and when I step on the court I fight for every single ball as that is what she would want me to do.”
Krejčíková is the seventh Czech-born player to reach the singles final at Wimbledon in the Open era, after Martina Navrátilová, Hana Mandlíková, Novotná, Petra Kvitová, Karolína Plíšková and Markéta Vondroušová.
Barbora Krejčíková will face Jasmine Paolini of Italy in Saturday’s final.
