Current:Home > FinanceBarbora Krejčíková survives fierce comeback attempt to win 2024 Wimbledon championship-InfoLens
Barbora Krejčíková survives fierce comeback attempt to win 2024 Wimbledon championship
View Date:2024-12-23 14:36:15
No. 31 Barbora Krejčíková of the Czech Republic survived a fierce comeback from No. 7 Jasmine Paolini of Italy on Saturday to become the 2024 Wimbledon women’s singles champion in a three-set thriller.
Krejčíková outlasted Paolini 6-2,̌íková 2-6, 6-4, the second consecutive Czech women's title at Wimbledon after compatriot Markéta Vondroušová shocked the tennis world by becoming the first unseeded woman to win last year.
"I don’t have any words now," Krejčíková said on court after her win. "It’s unreal what just happened. It’s definitely the best day of my tennis career and the best day of my life.”
This victory is Krejčíková’s second Grand Slam singles victory after she won the 2021 French Open singles title. She is now a three-time Wimbledon winner, having won the doubles titles in 2018 and 2022.
Despite her loss, Paolini is having a breakout year. She is the only Italian woman to ever reach the Wimbledon singles final in the Open Era — a feat she accomplished after never having won a game at Wimbledon before this year’s tournament. This loss was her second Grand Slam final this year after No. 1 Iga Swiatek dealt her a heavy-handed loss in last month’s French Open final.
Krejčíková seized command of the game from the first serve, exploiting weaknesses in Paolini’s serve and neutralizing the Italian’s typically strong defensive abilities. Krejčíková’s slicing forehand shots proved too much to handle for Paolini, and the Czech player stormed to a 6-2 victory in the first set.
Paolini, renowned for her gritty determination—evident in her record-setting, two-hour-and-51-minute semi-final comeback victory over Croatia’s Donna Vekić—stepped onto the court for the second set looking like a different player. Her confidence restored, Paolini mounted her comeback to win the first three games, breaking Krejčíková’s first serve and going on to overpower Krejčíková to claim a 6-2 second-set victory with her explosive speed, play reading and aggressive baseline drives.
Set 3 was a nail-biter, with each player alternating game wins for the first six games as neither player could break the other’s serve. Krejčíková finally found a way through in game 7 to take the lead and go on to win the set 6-4, even though Paolini came within one point of breaking Krejčíková’s serve twice in the final moments of the game.
veryGood! (614)
Related
- Wicked's Ethan Slater Shares How Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo Set the Tone on Set
- Summer 2023 ends: Hotter summers are coming and could bring outdoor work bans, bumpy roads
- Europe claws back to tie 2023 Solheim Cup against Americans
- Taiwan factory fire death toll rises to 9 after 2 more bodies found
- New Orleans marks with parade the 64th anniversary of 4 little girls integrating city schools
- At the edge of the UN security perimeter, those with causes (and signs) try to be heard
- Mid-Atlantic coast under flood warnings as Ophelia weakens to post-tropical low and moves north
- AP PHOTOS: In the warming Alps, Austria’s melting glaciers are in their final decades
- Shaun White Reveals How He and Fiancée Nina Dobrev Overcome Struggles in Their Relationship
- After climate summit, California Gov. Gavin Newsom faces key decisions to reduce emissions back home
Ranking
- Jason Statham Shares Rare Family Photos of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Their Kids on Vacation
- 5 hospitalized in home explosion that left house 'heavily damaged'
- How North Carolina farmers are selling their grapes for more than a dollar per grape
- Lebanese and Israeli troops fire tear gas along the tense border in a disputed area
- NATO’s Rutte calls for more Western support for Ukraine, warns of Russian alliances
- India-Canada tensions shine light on complexities of Sikh activism in the diaspora
- Brian Austin Green and Sharna Burgess Are Engaged
- Deshaun Watson has been woeful with the Browns. Nick Chubb's injury could bring QB needed change.
Recommendation
-
Todd Golden to continue as Florida basketball coach despite sexual harassment probe
-
Water restrictions in rainy Seattle? Dry conditions have 1.5M residents on asked to conserve
-
Flamingos in Wisconsin? Tropical birds visit Lake Michigan beach in a first for the northern state
-
Brian Austin Green and Sharna Burgess Are Engaged: You’ll Be Dancing Over Her Stunning Diamond Ring
-
Watch out, Temu: Amazon Haul, Amazon's new discount store, is coming for the holidays
-
National Cathedral replaces windows honoring Confederacy with stained-glass homage to racial justice
-
AP PHOTOS: King Charles and Camilla share moments both regal and ordinary on landmark trip to France
-
Alabama finds pulse with Jalen Milroe and shows in Mississippi win it could be dangerous