Paris (AFP)
At 25 and for her 5th Grand Slam tournament only, the Czech Barbora Krejcikova (33rd) went to the end of her dream at Roland Garros by winning Saturday in the final at the expense of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (32nd) 6-1 , 2-6, 6-4.
No doubt Krejcikova will long remember the three weeks she spent in France.
She, who still had a virgin singles record a month ago, won Strasbourg in quick succession at the end of May, and the Parisian Grand Slam now.
An unexpected sequence for the Czech who had so far never passed the knockout stages in Major.
"It's really hard to find the words right away, I can't believe what's happening to me," she whispered a few moments after her coronation.
Krejcikova, still out of the top 100 last September, has only really hatched in singles since the end of 2020, thanks in particular to his round of 16 on Parisian clay, already, last fall.
From 65th place in early 2021, it was at the gates of the top 30 before the tournament, and will climb to 15th place on Monday.
- Inspired by Hénin and Novotna -
Previously, it was in doubles that she obtained her first successes.
Her first WTA title in 2015, but above all her first major trophies, at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2018 with her compatriot Katerina Siniakova, the world No.1 place in October of the same year, and also a treble in mixed doubles at the Australian Open, between 2019 and 2021.
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She draws her inspiration from two former players: the Belgian Justine Hénin and the Czech Jana Novotna, Wimbledon winner in 1998 and died of cancer in 2017, at the age of 49.
You have to see the emotion that seizes her when she recounts her meeting with the Belgian, quadruple champion of Roland-Garros (2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007), at random on a television set the day before.
"She was right there and I said to myself: + Is it really her? Is she really there? + I was really surprised that she knew my name and that she knew who I am", is surprised. -it.
"When I was younger, we watched a lot of tennis with my mom on TV in the kitchen, and we saw her playing against Serena, Venus, Amélie Mauresmo ... I always loved her one-handed backhand, c 'was an incredible blow, and her mental and physical strength, I have always admired her. It was a dream to meet her, just to see that she is a real person, I was shaking so much ... ", she smiles.
With Novotna, the meeting dates back to 2014, and it was Martina Navratilova, the Czechoslovakian legend turned American, who presented the Suzanne-Lenglen Cup to Krejcikova, who unveiled it.
- Panic and match point -
"I knew you were brave, because when Jana came back to Brno (in the Czech Republic, editor's note) in 2014, you had the courage to go knock on her door and ask her for help", s' is she remembered.
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"I'm so happy that all this is happening to me, all these experiences, it will make me memories to tell my children", rejoices Krejcikova.
For the twists and turns, she can add her panic attack overcome before her round of 16 against Sloane Stephens and the match point discarded in the semi-final against Maria Sakkari.
In the final on Saturday, she was the one who best managed the pressure of a very first major final, despite, inevitably, some difficulties to conclude.
But her statistics sheet, with 34 winning strokes for 16 unforced errors, is significantly better than that of Pavlyuchenkova (23 against 31).
The Russian, almost 30, lets slip the opportunity to become the first player in the Open era to win a first Grand Slam tournament beyond the fiftieth attempt.
Krecjikova's fortnight is not yet over: she will play the women's doubles final on Sunday, still alongside Siniakova.
If the Czech duo win, they will become the first to sign the double since Mary Pierce in 2000.
© 2021 AFP