Barbora Krejcikova pulled off a comeback win against former champion Elena Rybakina to reach her maiden Wimbledon final.
The Czech 31st seed struggled with her serve early on before finding her footing to beat Rybakina 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Making it the third consecutive time she has beaten the Kazakh on the Tour and is yet to lose against her. Something that has only been achieved by two other payers, Aryna Sabalenka and Liudmila Samsonova. Krejcikova’s victory saw her hit 25 winners against 26 unforced errors as she broke her opponent four times.
“It is very tough to explain, but a lot of joy and a lot of emotions. There is a lot of relief and I am super proud!” She said during her on-court interview.
“I am so proud about my game and my fighting spirit today.
“I was trying to fight for every single ball, during the second set I was getting my momentum and when I broke her I started to be in the zone and I didn’t want to leave the zone.”
Rybakina eased her way through the first set in 43 minutes by breaking her opponent three consecutive times. Krejcikova produced glimmers of her true talent and tried to motivate herself by cheering out loud. However, the Czech player struggled with her consistency, as well as Rybakina’s firepower. 19 out of the 22 winners hit in the opener was by the fourth seed.
However, the match momentum changed midway through the second frame after a below-par Rybakina service game enabled Krejcikova to break by hitting a deep return to force an error. The former French Open champion went on to clinch the set during a lengthy service game that ended with a Rybakina shot crashing into the net.
The comeback continued to gain momentum for Krejcikova, who broke for a 4-3 lead in the decider after a failed Rybakina drop shot. Storming towards victory, she closed the match with a 104 mph serve wide that her opponent returned out.
It is the first time Krejcikova has reached a Grand Slam final since winning the 2021 French Open whilst unseeded in the draw. She is the fifth Czech player in the Open Era to reach a Wimbledon final Jana Novotna, Petra Kvitova, Karolina Pliskova and Marketa Vondrousova.
“A couple of years ago I was working with Jana Novotna. She won here in 1998.” Krejcikova reflected.
“She told me a lot of stories about her journey here and how she was trying to win Wimbledon. I was so far when we had this talk. Now I’m here. Wow… I’m in the finals.”
She goes on to pay tribute to Novotna, who sadly passed away in 2019 sat the age of 49 following a battle with cancer.
“I remember thinking about her a lot. I have so many beautiful memories. When I step on court here I’m just fighting for every single ball. Because I think that’s what she’d want me to do,” she said.
Awaiting the 28-year-old in the Final will be Jasmine Paolini who has become the first Italian woman in history to reach the title match after ousting Donna Vekic in a marathon encounter. It will be the first meeting between the two since 2018 when they clash in the qualifying round of the Australian Open. On that occasion, Krejcikova won 6-2, 6-1.
The Women’s final will take place on Saturday afternoon.
