By Richard Pagliaro | @TennisNow | Wednesday, July 10, 2024

 

In a match of former French Open champions, Barbora Krejcikova beat Jelena Ostapenko, 6-4, 7-6(4) to reach her first Wimbledon singles semifinal.

Photo credit: Rob Newell/CameraSport

Wimbledon—Grass is the only Grand Slam surface that lives and dies during tournament play.

Barbora Krejcikova is creating career rebirth on Wimbledon’s historic lawn.

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In a clash of former French Open champions, Krejcikova fought off Jelena Ostapenko 6-4, 7-6(4) advancing to her maiden Wimbledon singles semifinal.

“I don’t have any words right now,” Krejcikova told Rishi Persad in her on-court interview. “I told myself I’m going to leave everything here that I have and I’m really happy I did.

“It’s an unbelievable moment that I’m experiencing right now in my tennis career.”



The 2017 French Open champion Ostapenko said she felt the court speed helped Krejcikova.

"I mean, she played pretty good today, but I think it's more about what I was maybe not going for the shots as much as I had to," Ostapenko said. "It was also, like, a bit windy. Court 1 honestly is a bit slower than the outside courts. Maybe it was in her favor, as well."

The 28-year-old Krejcikova, who had not surpassed a quarterfinal this season until today, continues her captivating comeback setting up a semifinal showdown vs. 2022 Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina.

On Centre Court, Rybakina rolled Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-2 to charge into an SW19 semifinal return. The fourth-seeded Rybakina raised her Wimbledon record to 19-2 equaling world No. 1 Iga Swiatek with her seventh semifinal of the season.

The two-time Wimbledon doubles champion Krejcikova's quest to pull off the rare double title triumph at SW19 and become the first woman since iconic champion Serena Williams in 2016 to sweep Wimbledon singles and doubles championships in the same season ended hours after her singles win.

Krejcikova, who captured the Roland Garros singles and doubles championships in 2021 when she was playing alongside compatriot Katerina Siniakova, and partner Laura Siegemund lost to second seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4, for a spot in the doubles semifinal. 

This grass-court revival comes after a brutal stretch that saw the Czech win just three singles matches between her Australian Open quarterfinal run in January and her first-round Eastbourne loss to Leylah Fernandez in Eastbourne last month.

Though her results waned, Krejcikova did not delve into self doubt.

“It was a very, very difficult period,” Krejcikova said. “It was super difficult even before this tournament. I really want to thank my team that is there today.

“There have been many doubts from the inside but also from the outside world. I’m super happy that I never give up and that I’m standing here right now and that I qualify to be in the semifinals.

“It’s great. It’s great.”

Sharper serving helped Krejcikova prevail today in a match where the pair combined for 62 unforced errors. Krejcikova served 73 percent compared to 49 percent for Ostapenko and won 81 percent of her first-serve points.

Playing down the middle, Krejcikova drew a wild forehand miscue from Ostapenko to earn first-break blood. The 5’10’ Czech slid a forehand pass on the stretch confirming the break for a 3-1 first-set lead.

Some fans were chanting “Barbora! Barbora!” as Krejcikova threw down a love hold for 4-2. Stamping a second straight shutout hold, Krejcikova stretched her lead to 5-3.

Facing one of the most fearsome returners in the game, Krejcikova masterfully mixed the location and speed of her serves, cruising through a third love hold to serve out the set.

The 31st-seeded Krejcikova served 83 percent, winning 18 of 19 first-serve points while permitting just three total points on serve in the 31-minute opening set.

Straddling the baseline on returns, Ostapenko is not one who likes to back up on return. Krejcikova knows it and continued her sharp serving belting a backhand winner down the line for her fourth consecutive love hold to level the second set after two games.

Though Ostapenko dropped just 15 games total through the first four rounds—she hadn’t surrendered more than three games in a set until today’s opener—she wasn’t making any inroads into the Krejcikova serve games for the first 45 minutes of this quarterfinal.

That trend changed in the fourth game as Ostapenko dialed up some deep forehands to score her first break of the match for a 3-1 second-set lead.

A stubborn Ostapenko erased three break points, winning the longest game of the match, to confirm the break for 4-1.

Exploiting two double faults from Ostapenko in the seventh game, Krejcikova centered a forehand return to elicit a netted error on her sixth break point of the set to get back on serve.

Facing a 15-40 deficit, Krejcikova passed a tough test on serve bolting a backhand down the line to level after eight games.

The two-handed backhand is typically Ostapenko’s most stable shot, but she was missing it at crucial stages today. Ostapenko netted a backhand to face break point.

Reading the wide serve, Krejcikova rapped a jolting forehand return that froze her opponent and landed smack on the baseline to seal her second straight break and a 6-4, 5-4 lead. After dropping her fourth game in a row, Ostapenko had blown through all her challenges then appeared to bounce coach from the box.

Despite the drama, Ostapenko benefited from a Krejcikova double fault to break back and level it at 5-all.

After the 13th-seeded Latvian held for 6-5, the No. 1 Court crowd erupted in the wave. Then Krejcikova held at love to send the set into the tiebreaker.

A twisting serve down the T put Krejcikova up 4-2 in the tiebreaker. The Ostapenko backhand sailed wide twice in the next three points as Krejcikova earned triple match point.

On her second match point Krejcikova closed on a wayward return ending a one hour, 40-minute victory thrusting her arms high in the sky as her coach threw her repeated fist pumps.

Reflecting on her illness-plagued spring struggles, Krejcikova said she's proudest of her perseverance.

"I mean, it was super difficult. It was very, very up and down, especially with all the illnesses that I had especially this year," Krejcikova said. "I felt like I started well, especially in Australia where I did quarters. I was on a good roll. Then I don't know where just my body said differently.

"I mean, I'm extremely proud that I never give up and that I'm here, yeah, that I have the energy and the power to overcome this and to fight again and to play good tennis."