Krejcikova topples Rybakina to reach Wimbledon final

Three years after her breakthrough run to the 2021 Roland Garros title, Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic has battled her way into her second Grand Slam singles final after a stirring semifinal win at Wimbledon on Thursday.

No.31 seed Krejcikova clinched her spot in Saturday's championship match with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback over No.4 seed Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion. Krejcikova took 2 hours and 7 minutes to turn around the match and seal victory on Centre Court.

Wimbledon 2024: Scores | Draws | Order of play

"I feel I had to improve everything," Krejcikova said after the match, reviewing the time between her major finals. "I think I definitely got better on faster surfaces. I feel like I had to develop my game because everybody else is developing their game, too. It's great that it looks like I made some progress, that I'm in another final."

Despite her lower seeding on the day, Krejcikova came into the match with a 2-0 head-to-head lead against Rybakina, and she backed that record up. For the third time in their three meetings, Krejcikova lost the first set, but went the distance to pick up a come-from-behind win.

Krejcikova handed an extremely rare Wimbledon loss to Rybakina. Kazakhstan's Rybakina entered the match with a 90.5 percent win rate in the Wimbledon main draw (19-2 before Thursday), which had been third-best in the Open Era behind former champions Ann Jones and Stefanie Graf.

Paolini awaits in the final: Krejcikova had faced only one Top 10 player this year before Wimbledon -- an Australian Open loss to Aryna Sabalenka -- but she will now try to defeat two Top 10 players in a row and claim her second Grand Slam singles title.

No.7 seed Jasmine Paolini awaits Krejcikova in Saturday's final, after Paolini squeaked past Donna Vekic in a down-to-the-wire thriller. Paolini is the first player to make the Roland Garros and Wimbledon finals in the same year since Serena Williams in 2016.

Krejcikova and Paolini have met only once before, quite some time ago and at a completely different level -- a first-round qualifying match at the 2018 Australian Open, when they were both ranked outside the Top 100. Krejcikova won that match handily 6-2, 6-1.

"To be honest, I don't remember the match [against Paolini]," Krejcikova said. "It's been a very long time ago. It's been a great journey for both of us to reach the Wimbledon finals."

Barbora back on top: Despite having been a Top 10 regular for large chunks of the last few years, Krejcikova's run to the 2024 Wimbledon final might be as unexpected as her 2021 Roland Garros title run, when she was an unseeded player ranked No.33.

With ailments hindering her throughout this year, former World No.2 Krejcikova came into Wimbledon with a 7-9 win-loss record in 2024, even including a trip to the Australian Open quarterfinals.

From June: Insider Podcast: Krejcikova's road to recovery and passion for tennis

Krejcikova started this year just inside the Top 10, but after a back injury in February took her off tour for two months, she suffered a five-match losing streak upon return, including an 0-4 record on clay.

But things picked up dramatically once Krejcikova set foot on the grounds of Wimbledon, where she is a two-time doubles champion. Starting with a tough first-round victory over Veronika Kudermetova, ranked only six spots behind her at No.38, Krejcikova accrued a number of quality wins. 

Krejcikova began this year 0-4 against Top 20 players, but she has now won three matches in a row versus that group. She ousted No.11 seed Danielle Collins and No.13 seed Jelena Ostapenko in the prior rounds, then grabbed her 12th career Top 10 win by upsetting Rybakina.

"During the season it was very difficult," Krejcikova said. "I have had many difficult periods. I never really imagined that in four weeks I could reach a Wimbledon final, that I can be a different player. But I'm super happy that I am, that I was able to fight through everything."

Krejcikova's 13 Grand Slam main-draw appearances between her first two major finals is the largest gap since her fellow Czech Karolina Pliskova played 18 majors between her 2016 US Open final and her 2021 Wimbledon final.

More from Wimbledon:

• 'A special place in my heart': Serena and Venus, Swiatek salute Andy Murray
• Is grass-court tennis the trickest surface on the tour?
  
• Familiar faces: Barty, Sharapova return to Wimbledon with their sons
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Tale of the tape: The difference in winners and unforced errors between the first two sets was stark. Rybakina brought her top Wimbledon form into the opener, firing 19 winners to Krejcikova’s three.

However, Rybakina dropped serve twice at the tail end of the first set after leading 4-0, and Krejcikova capitalized on the shifting momentum with sturdier groundstrokes.

In the second set, Krejcikova had 14 winners to Rybakina's nine, and the Czech also had three fewer unforced errors than her opponent.

Krejcikova was pristine on serve in the third set, where she never faced a break point. Up break point at 3-3, Krejcikova carved a backhand across the court, and Rybakina’s equivalent dipping backhand reply found the net, ceding the only break of the decider to Krejcikova.

The Czech was up to the task from there, cruising through a love hold at 5-4 to complete the big win.