London: Barbora Krejcikova overcame a second-set loss to beat Jasmine Paolini of Italy in the women’s singles final, claiming her first Wimbledon title and second Grand Slam crown on Saturday. Krejcikova, the No. 31 seed, from the Czech Republic, defeated Paolini 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 in a well-contested maiden final for both at Wimbledon.
Three years ago, Krejcikova won the French Open title. Thirteen major events have passed since, marking the largest gap between Grand Slam titles since Karolina Pliskova’s 18-event gap between the US Open 2016 and Wimbledon 2021.
Krejcikova’s victory at Wimbledon adds to her growing resume, having also been a quarterfinalist in doubles at this year’s event.
At 28, Krejcikova is the oldest player to win her first Wimbledon title since Angelique Kerber six years ago. She is the fifth Czech player to reach the women’s singles finals at Wimbledon in the Open Era, following Jana Novotna, Petra Kvitova, Karolina Pliskova, and Marketa Vondrousova.
On Saturday, Krejcikova also became the first Czech player in the Open Era to secure women’s singles Grand Slam titles at different events.
In the final, Krejcikova won 10 of the first 11 points, breaking Paolini’s serve to open the match with a smooth forehand winner. She broke the Italian’s serve twice in the 35-minute first set and did not face a break point herself. The Czech star had 10 winners against Paolini’s 10 unforced errors.
The way she started the first set, it looked like Krejcikova would cruise to a straight-set victory. But Paolini had other thoughts as she converted her first break point of the match to take a 2-0 lead and would break Krejcikova twice. Paolini had eight winners to Krejcikova’s 14 unforced errors.
But in the third set, the two players settled into a rhythm and played their most consistent tennis. With Paolini serving at 3-all, Krejcikova forged the first advantage. She converted her second break point of the game when Paolini hit a nervous double fault. It was a lead she would not relinquish and rode to a well-deserved victory.
IANS
