Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic holds her trophy aloft after defeating Jasmine Paolini of Italy in the women’s final at Wimbledon in London on Saturday. Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press LONDON — Barbora Krejcikova kept insisting that nobody – not her friends, not her family, not even herself – would believe she won Wimbledon for her second Grand Slam title. Her first major championship, as an unseeded player at the French Open three years ago, certainly was a surprise.
This one, which came via a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 victory over Jasmine Paolini in the final at the All England Club on Saturday, was maybe just as unpredictable, sure, but perhaps now it’s time to recognize that these sorts of results from Krejcikova are not only possible but make perfect sense. “It’s just unreal what just happened. Definitely the best day of my tennis career – and also the best day of my life,” said Krejcikova, a 28-year-old from the Czech Republic, who thanked her late mentor, 1998 Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna, for pushing her into professional tennis.
Even while holding her gold champion’s plate, Krejcikova described herself as “the lucky one” for getting past the seventh-seeded Paolini, who also was the runner-up at the French Open last month. Krejcikova was only the 31st of 32 seeds at the All England Club after illness and a back injury this season limited her to a 7-9 record entering this tournament. Then came a three-setter in the first round last week, ad.