Barbora Krejcikova: 3 key factors behind Wimbledon victory over Jasmine Paolini

Barbora Krejcikova is the 2024 Wimbledon champion

It was an enthralling final against seventh seed Jasmine Paolini, with momentum changing multiple times between the two women.

Italian star Paolini looked in the driving seat after a dominant second set, but former world No 2 and 31st seed Krejcikova rallied to claim a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 triumph on Centre Court.

It was a second singles Grand Slam title for the Czech, a first at Wimbledon, and a 12th major overall – and we look at how she did it.

First serve

This was the shot that defined the final from Krejcikova’s perspective, her hopes of claiming the title ultimately met by producing a high level when it mattered.

The former world No 2 bossed the opening set and that was largely down to her getting a staggering 90% of first serves in, winning 84% of points behind that.

It proved more of a struggle in the second set, however, as she only managed to get 63% of first serves in and only won 53% of those points – broken twice on her way to losing it.

However, she was back in fine form in the third set, getting 68% of first serves in – still down on set one – but winning a solid 76% of points behind it.

Receiving points

This was a match where Krejcikova’s serve was key, but her return also proved to be an invaluable asset throughout the final – especially in the first and third sets.

The 31st seed was able to win 39% of points on her return, compared to just 32% of points that Paolini was able to win on her return.

That enabled her to put more pressure on the seventh seed, creating seven break points, and breaking three times – crucially one more time than her opponent.

Experience

Paolini, much like Krejcikova had played a Grand Slam final before – just a few weeks ago at Roland Garros.

But, while she lost that final, the Czech had won her sole singles major final at the French Open in 2021 and had won ten of her 11 finals across women’s and mixed doubles.

The final set was incredibly tense and ultimately maybe it was the experience that helped her, forcing the Italian into a double fault on the decisive break point – and then saving multiple break points serving out the match.

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