It’s been a while since a Grand Slam champion surprised us as much as this Wimbledon 2024. The one chosen to lift the title was finally Barbora Krejcikova, someone who already had a singles title at Roland Garros under her belt, but also someone who had been dragging along a season full of bad experiences, to the point that her goal in London this edition was none other than to overcome the first round match. It was with that mentality that her latest success at Wimbledon 2024 began to take shape.
In a direct interview with the WTA, Krejcikova confesses the difficulties she has had to deal with in the last months of the calendar, forced to miss numerous WTA 1000 tournaments due to injury and facing the grass court swing without having won a single match since February. But tennis sometimes saves the best for last, for those tireless players who never throw in the towel… and who never lose their talent. This is the case of the Czech, who went from being a champion forgotten in the locker room to becoming the first Czech in the Open Era to win two different Grand Slams. A lot of merit for her, proving that in sport no one is ever written down.
A surprising tournament
“I didn’t have any expectations at this stage of the season, as I hadn’t been doing well at all. I was very happy to leave Birmingham, where I managed to win two matches, but then in Eastbourne I lost in the first round. At Wimbledon, all I wanted was to win in the first round, to get off to a good start, everything after that would be a bonus. It wasn’t until after the final that I realised that this was something really special.”
Winning seven games in two weeks
“I don’t know how I’ve done it, but I love playing in big games in big stadiums, it’s something I really enjoy and work towards. When I step on the court, I leave everything out there, I just tell myself: ‘OK, this is the moment’. I always wanted to be there, so I try to enjoy every moment. Once you have the memories of a final, you try to apply that same attitude to every occasion.”
The key to its success
“I can’t explain it, I was just trying to fight and give it my all, fighting for every ball, every match, every set and every game. The truth is that it’s super difficult to win seven matches, and they’re all so complicated. To have done it twice in my career is unreal, incredible, that’s what I’m most proud of, the fighting spirit I showed during these two weeks, always living in the present moment. I started to believe that miracles can happen, that I could really win Wimbledon.”
2024-07-15 08:47:51
#Wimbledon #started #miracles