Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 13, 2024 Czech Republic's Barbora Krejcikova celebrates with the trophy after winning her final against Italy's Jasmine Paolini REUTERS/Paul Childs LONDON - An inspired Barbora Krejcikova etched her name onto Wimbledon's famed honours board alongside her late mentor Jana Novotna after the seasoned Czech survived a stirring fightback from Jasmine Paolini to seal a 6-2 2-6 6-4 victory in the final on Saturday. The 2021 French Open champion added the Venus Rosewater Dish to her bulging trophy cabinet that also includes 10 Grand Slam doubles prizes besides an Olympic doubles gold medal from the Tokyo Games three years ago. Moments after her triumph, Krejcikova was reflecting on a chat that she had as a junior with her idol Novotna, who lifted the Wimbledon title 26 years ago and tragically died in 2017 following a battle with ovarian cancer aged 49.
"Knocking on her door, it changed my life," said Krejcikova, who reached out to Novotna for help by writing her a letter before they started working together in 2014. "In that period, when I finished the juniors, I didn't know what to do. Should I continue playing professionally or should I go into education? "She was the one who told me I had the potential.
I should definitely turn professional. Before she passed away she told me I can win a Grand Slam. I achieved that in Paris in 2021.
"It was an unbelievable moment for me and I never really dreame.