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Barbora Krejcikova won the ladies singles title at Wimbledon 2024 after beating Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 in the final on Saturday. It took the 28-year-old an hour and 56 minutes to come up trumps. Back in 2021, she won the French Open 2021 and, in only her second appearance in a Grand Slam final, she came up trumps. Her mentor Jana Novotna, who passed away in 2017, won her only Grand Slam title at Wimbledon back in 1998.
Paolini had the chance to become the first Italian, male or female, to win a singles major, but that was not the case. Earlier this year, Paolini faced heartbreak when she lost to World No.1 Iga Swiatek in the final of the French Open at Roland Garros. Paolini could not put up a fight against the Pole, but against Krejcikova, she did not go down without putting in a strong effort. For the uninitiated, Paolini also became the first Italian woman to reach the Wimbledon final.
The first set was a completely one-sided affair in favour of Krejcikova, who seemed to have carried her confidence from her win over 2022-champion Elena Rybakina. She earned a double break to close out the set in double quick time. Paolini saved a couple of break points, but her opponent from the Czech Republic did not give her much breathing space.
The second set was a different story altogether. With her back pushed to the wall, Paolini responded with a lot of guts. She returned the favour with a double break and took the match into the decider. She was far more aggressive than she was in the opening set and shifted the pressure right back to Krejcikova.
In the third set, both players were neck on neck before Krejcikova earned the deciding break of serve at 4-3. Paolini did save a couple of championship points to stay alive, but Krejcikova ended up having the last laugh. With the win, Krejcikova will also return to the top 10 of the WTA rankings. For Paolini, she will return in the Paris Olympics to get underway on June 26.
