Five things to know about Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova

 Czech Republic's Barbora Krejcikova (L) holds the winner's trophy, the Venus Rosewater Dish, as she stands alongside runner-up Italy's Jasmine Paolini, after their women's singles final tennis match on the thirteenth day of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 13, 2024. Krejcikova won the match 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. Czech Republic's Barbora Krejcikova (L) holds the winner's trophy, the Venus Rosewater Dish, as she stands alongside runner-up Italy's Jasmine Paolini, after their women's singles final tennis match on the thirteenth day of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 13, 2024. Krejcikova won the match 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP

 


London, United Kingdom- Barbora Krejcikova beat Jasmine Paolini in three sets to win the 2024 Wimbledon women's title on Saturday.

AFP Sport looks at five things to know about the Czech 28-year-old, who now has two Grand Slam titles.

 

Legoland to dreamland

When Krejcikova is not playing tennis, she is building Lego models.

In her repertoire are the Milky Way, and Dobby, a character from the world of Harry Potter.

"I have many of them actually. Yeah, I even received some from my team here," she said.

She hopes one day to put together a Lego version of Wimbledon Centre Court.

"If there's one for me, I'll do that," said Krejcikova.

 

Helping hands

Krejcikova sacked coach Ales Kartus, who helped her to the 2021 French Open title, in July last year. Since then, she has not had a full-time coach but is working with Pavel Motl, who is two years younger, at 26.

They went to the same school and occasionally trained together.

Recalling how they first met, Motl told the iDNES.cz news website: "Bara was 10 and she played in the village where I live. She was playing on court number three and beat our adult neighbour 6-0, 6-0."

Motl refuses to call himself a coach.

"I don't know whether I will ever call myself a coach. For me, it's a kind of a lifetime journey."

 

Family life

At Wimbledon, Krejcikova shuns life in official hotels, preferring instead to stay with a local family as she has done for the past decade.

Krejcikova has often spoken of the "relaxed atmosphere" at the house, where her late coach Jana Novotna used to stay too.

The 31st seed paid an emotional tribute to Novotna, who also hails from Brno, in an on-court interview after her semi-final win.

Novotna, who won Wimbledon in 1998, died from cancer in 2017 at the age of 49.

"I remember thinking about her a lot," said Krejcikova. "I have so many beautiful memories and when I step on the court I fight for every single ball as that is what she would want me to do."

 

School's out

Krejcikova admits she was committed to reaching junior finals as it often meant a day off from school.

"I always liked playing the finals at minor tournaments, because we played on Mondays and I didn't have to go to school. That was my goal for the weekend," she said.

 

Olympics dream

Krejcikova is due to team up with as the pair seek to defend their doubles title from Tokyo.

The two split last November after winning seven Grand Slam titles together.Katerina Siniakova for the Paris Olympics 

The split was initiated by Siniakova, who decided to team up with Storm Hunter but the Australian picked up an Achilles tendon injury in April, meaning a spell on the sidelines.

Siniakova won the French Open women's doubles with Coco Gauff last month and has reached this year's Wimbledon final with Taylor Townsend.

Krejcikova teamed up with Laura Siegemund for the women's doubles at Wimbledon but they knocked out in the quarter-finals.

frj/dj/jw

© Agence France-Presse

Dont Miss

The Foreign Post is the newspaper of the International Community in the Philippines, published for foreign residents, Internationally-oriented Filipinos, and visitors to the country. It is written and edited to inform, to entertain, occasionally to educate, to provide a forum for international thinkers.

READ MORE ...


Contact Us

3/F Rolfem Building, 4680 Old Sta. Mesa
corner Bagong Panahon Streets
Sta. Mesa, Manila, Philippines
T: (+ 632) 8713 - 7182 , (+632) 8404-5250
advertise@theforeignpost.info

 

Graffiti