- Barbora Krejcikova won 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to claim her second Grand Slam title
- The Czech star survived a remarkable comeback by Jasmine Paolini
- Paolini lost a second straight major final as Wimbledon got a new winner
Barbora Krejcikova held her nerve and survived a sensational comeback from Jasmine Paolini to win the women’s singles title at Wimbledon.
The 28-year-old won the second Grand Slam of her career, following her victory at Roland Garros in 2021.
A fascinating match ended 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, giving SW19 a new champion for the seventh year in a row.
“Absolutely the best day of my tennis career and the best day of my life,” the Czech star summed up as she accepted the applause from Centre Court.
In a thrilling first set, Krejcikova dominated Paolini with a series of crushing forehands and her great stroke versatility.
Barbara Krejcikova put in an impressive performance to win the Wimbledon women’s singles title
The Czech star has won her second Grand Slam title, having previously won the French Open
Krejcikova was formidable in the first set as she raced to a 6-2 lead
Jasmine Paolini came out of the second set fighting and won it with the same score
The Czech star defeated the Italian twice and had a fist service percentage of 90 percent, winning the first set in just 35 minutes.
But after a seemingly magical toilet break, Paolini emerged with renewed confidence, winning the first three games of the second set as the match looked unrecognisable.
By advancing further up the court, Paolini took control of the match and she also broke her opponent twice en route to a convincing 6-2 set victory.
A match that looked like a close call after the first set took on a new, exciting character when Paolini started the final set with a dominant advantage.
Both stars held serve in the first six games of the final set, until Krejcikova won the seventh game after a double fault from Paolini.
The Italian regretted her mistake as Krejcikova won her next service game to make it 5-3.
Paolini did her job and took her next service game. She made things even harder in the final skirmish by allowing Krejcikova to make deuce four times. However, the Czech star fought on and made history.
For Paolini it is the second defeat in a row in a Grand Slam final, after Roland Garros.
The third set was much more exciting as both players held their serve, until Krejcokova made a breakthrough in the seventh game and waited for the right moment to secure the victory.
Italian tennis star Paolini was devastated after losing her second consecutive Grand Slam final
Meanwhile, Krejcikova celebrated her birthday with her family, calling Saturday the “best day of her life”
Zendaya Coleman took a seat in the crowd as Centre Court watched a thrilling match
Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale were also spotted in the crowd for the three-set match
Yet she made history in her own way, battling through the longest women’s semi-final at Wimbledon ever to reach this stage, becoming the first Italian woman to get that far in the process.
Krejcikova said: ‘I have no words for it. It’s unreal what just happened. Definitely the best day of my tennis career and the best day of my life.
“It’s super hard to explain what I’m feeling right now. I want to congratulate Jasmine and her team. We fought for every ball and in the end I was the lucky one.
“I just told myself to be brave. It was such a tough game, a great final, a great competition. I’m super happy to be here and enjoy this moment.”
“The last two months have been crazy for me and I can’t thank my team, my family and everyone who is there. They always support me and believe in me and without them I wouldn’t be here,” Paolini said.
“The audience was incredible. I enjoyed it so much.”
Famous faces watched from the Centre Court stands as Hugh Jackman, Zendaya Coleman, Kate Beckinsale, Ellie Goulding, Pierce Brosnan and many more took their places.
