More than quarter-of-a-century since her late mentor famously triumphed after previous heartbreaks, Barbora Krejcikova has earned another emotional victory to become Wimbledon singles champion.
The 28-year-old Czech, who shocked tennis back in 2021 by lifting the French Open title, roared to another surprising triumph on Saturday by repelling a comeback from Italian No.7 seed Jasmine Paolini to follow in the footsteps of her late former coach Jana Novotna, who won in 1998.
Krejcikova, the No.31 seed, prevailed 6-2 2-6 6-4 in four minutes under two hours after an absorbing final that looked in the balance until she began to assert herself from 3-3 in the final set.
