“I remember thinking about her a lot,” Barbora Krejcikova shares a tearful tribute to former late coach Jana Novotna after reaching Wimbledon singles final

Barbora Krejcikova will now meet Italian Jasmine Paolini in the Wimbledon final.

“I remember thinking about her a lot,” Barbora Krejcikova shares a tearful tribute to former late coach Jana Novotna after reaching Wimbledon singles final

Barbora Krejcikova and Jana Novotna (via Imago)

Barbora Krejcikova honored Wimbledon legend Jana Novotna, her former mentor, in a heartfelt interview. She spoke after defeating title favorite Elena Rybakina to reach the final at the All-England Club.

The 2021 French Open beat world No. 4 Rybakina 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. This win on Centre Court has led her to her first Wimbledon singles final.

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A couple years ago I was working with Jana Novotna. She won here in 1998. At that point she told me a lot of stories about her journey here and how she was trying to win Wimbledon. I was so far when we had this talk. Now I’m here. Wow… I’m in the finals.
Barbora Krejcikova said in her post-match interview

Despite losing five of the first six games, Krejcikova made a strong comeback. She was once coached by Novotna, the 1998 Wimbledon champion and former world No. 2, who sadly passed away from cancer at 49 in 2017.

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I remember thinking about her a lot. I have so many beautiful memories. When I step on court here I’m just fighting for every single ball. Because I think that’s what she’d want me to do.
Barbora Krejcikova added

In the final, Krejcikova will face seventh seed Jasmine Paolini. With her performance, the Czech player has moved up 18 places to 14th in the live WTA Rankings and could return to the top 10 if she wins.

Barbora Krejcikova to meet Jasmine Paolini in her first Wimbledon final

No.31 seed Barbora Krejcikova secured her place in the championship match on Saturday with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over No.4 seed Elena Rybakina. The 2022 Wimbledon champion was defeated after a 2-hour and 7-minute match on Centre Court. Despite being lower-seeded, Krejcikova came into the match with a 2-0 lead in their head-to-head record.

Barbora Krejcikova Wimbledon
Barbora Krejcikova (via Imago)

For the third time in their three matches, the Czech player lost the first set but managed a comeback win. Rybakina had a very strong Wimbledon record, with a 90.5 percent win rate (19-2) before this match. Krejcikova’s win gave the Kazakh player a rare defeat at Wimbledon.

Krejcikova had only played against one Top 10 player this year before Wimbledon, losing to Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open. Now, she aims to beat two Top 10 players in a row to win her second Grand Slam singles title. She will face No.7 seed Jasmine Paolini in the final on Saturday.

The Roland Garros runners-up narrowly defeated Donna Vekic to reach the final. She is the first player to make the finals of both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year since Serena Williams in 2016. Krejcikova and Paolini have only played once before, in a qualifying match at the 2018 Australian Open, where the Czech player won 6-2, 6-1.

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