Three years after her breakthrough run to the 2021 Roland Garros title, Barbora Krejcikova has battled her way into her second Grand Slam singles final with a stirring semifinal win at Wimbledon.
Wimbledon 2024: Scores | Draws | Order of play
No.31 seed Krejcikova clinched her spot in the championship match with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback over No.4 seed Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion. Krejcikova took 2 hours and 7 minutes to turn around the match and seal victory on Centre Court on Thursday.
Despite her lower seeding on the day, Krejcikova came into the match with a 2-0 head-to-head record against Rybakina. For the third time in their three meetings, Krejcikova lost the first set before going the distance en route to the win.
Paolini awaits: Krejcikova had only faced one Top 10 player this year before Wimbledon — a loss to Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open — but now she will have to defeat two Top 10 players in a row if she wants to claim her second Grand Slam singles title.
No.7 seed Jasmine Paolini awaits Krejcikova in Saturday’s final, after Paolini squeaked past Donna Vekic in a down-to-the-wire thriller to make her second straight Grand Slam final.
Krejcikova and Paolini have only met once before, quite some time ago and at a completely different level — a first-round qualifying match at the 2018 Australian Open, when they were both ranked well outside the Top 100. Krejcikova won that match handily 6-2, 6-1.
Barbora back on top: Despite being a Top 10 regular for large chunks of the last few years, Krejcikova’s run to the 2024 Wimbledon final might be almost as unexpected as her trip to the 2021 Roland Garros title as an unseeded player ranked No.33.
With ailments hindering her throughout the year, Krejcikova came into Wimbledon with a 7-9 win-loss record, which even included a trip to the Australian Open quarterfinals in January. Krejcikova, who started this year ranked No.10, suffered a five-match losing streak in the middle of the season, including an 0-4 record on clay.
But things have picked up dramatically once Krejcikova set foot on the grounds of Wimbledon. After getting through a tough first-round clash against Veronika Kudermetova, ranked only six spots behind her at No.38, Krejcikova leveled up and picked up a number of quality wins.
After beginning this year 0-4 against Top 20 players, Krejcikova has now won three matches in a row against that echelon. She ousted No.11 seed Danielle Collins and No.13 seed Jelena Ostapenko before grabbing her 12th career Top 10 win by upsetting Rybakina.
More to come…
More from Wimbledon:
- ‘A special place in my heart’: Serena and Venus, Swiatek salute Andy Murray
- Is grass-court tennis the trickest surface on the tour?
- Familiar faces: Barty, Sharapova return to Wimbledon with their sons
- Alright, alright, alright: Collins’ run catches Matthew McConaughey’s eye
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