Champions Corner: Krejcikova’s post-Wimbledon media blitz and Greek takeout

Twenty-two hours later, after a dizzying array of media obligations and a brief night’s sleep, Barbora Krejcikova still couldn’t process what she had achieved.

“I mean I still cannot believe it,” Krejcikova told wtatennis.com following a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 win over Jasmine Paolini in the Wimbledon final.

She was laughing when she said it.

After the trophy presentation and a quick shower, Krejcikova navigated her way through English and Czech Q&As in the main interview room, a brief chat with Czech radio and Czech rightsholder for television, Eurosport. That was followed by a dozen or so television interviews in the mixed zone -- and three more studio visits, to the BBC, ESPN and Tennis Channel. There were also two roundtable discussions with British and international writers, a roof-top message for WTA social media and a visit to anti-doping control. 

Because of the late hour, Krejcikova and her entourage -- which included family members, coach Pavel Motl, Jan Kodes, two-time Czech winner of the French Open, Czech actress Jana Paulova and Anaheim Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal -- quaffed champagne at the All England Club and enjoyed some strawberries and cream. Krejcikova, famished, ordered herself some Greek food from Uber Eats.

And then it was back to the rented house, more celebration and, finally, bed around 1 a.m. Falling asleep, she revealed, wasn’t a problem. Five hours later, Krejcikova was posing for shots in the Royal Box and anticipating a meet and greet with Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales.

Somewhere in there, she answered a few questions for wtatennis.com

You won seven matches in the first six months this year -- honestly, what were your thoughts about your chances at Wimbledon?

Krejcikova: “I had no expectations because I wasn’t doing really well. I was happy in Birmingham to get two wins. Eastbourne, lost first round. At Wimbledon, I just wanted to get the first win, to kick it off. In my mind, everything else was just a bonus. It wasn’t until after the final that I realized this was something special.”

You have now played 13 major finals, singles doubles, mixed -- and won 12 of them. How is that even possible?

Krejcikova: “I don’t know, but I love to play the big matches in the big stadiums. It’s something I enjoy and work for. When I step on the court, I leave it all out there. I just say to myself, `OK this is the moment.’ You always wanted to be here, so try to enjoy the moment. You already have the memories of a final. That’s the attitude I’m trying to apply.”

How did you win seven matches in less than two weeks?

Krejcikova: “It’s tough to explain, really. I was just giving my everything to it, fighting for every ball, every game and every set and every match. It’s super difficult to win seven tough matches -- to be able to do it twice is something real and amazing. That is what I’m proudest of, the fighting spirit I showed these two weeks, living in the present, living in the moment. You start to believe that miracles can happen, that I can win Wimbledon.”

Here's more from Wimbledon as the year's third Grand Slam event came to a close.

Honor Roll

Jasmine Paolini: The surging Italian fell just short to Krejcikova in the Wimbledon final, but it has still been a summer to remember. Paolini became the first woman to reach the Roland Garros and Wimbledon singles finals in the same year since Serena Williams in 2016.

It cannot be understated how much of a rise Paolini has gone on this year. After being as low as No.31 in January, Paolini is projected to make her Top 5 debut at No.5 on Monday. With two Grand Slam finals and a WTA 1000 title in Dubai under her belt in 2024, Paolini is thrilled with her season while also eyeing more to come.

Paolini's Grand Slam dream is closer than ever despite Wimbledon loss

"If I keep this level, I think I can have the chance to do great things," Paolini said after the final.

Donna Vekic: The 28-year-old Croatian broke through to her first Grand Slam semifinal this fortnight, in her 43rd Grand Slam main draw. In the Open Era (since 1968), only Barbora Strycova (53), Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (52), Elena Likhovtseva (46) and Roberta Vinci (44) took more Grand Slam appearances to make a maiden semifinal.

Lulu Sun: The 23-year-old saved a match point in qualifying before storming into the quarterfinals, with wins over No.8 seed Zheng Qinwen and 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu en route. Sun was the first New Zealander to make a Grand Slam quarterfinal since 1989, and the first qualifier in the Wimbledon quarterfinals since 2010.

Emma Navarro: The American's methodical rise up the rankings will continue after her Wimbledon performance, where she ousted No.2 Coco Gauff to reach her first career Grand Slam quarterfinal.

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Jelena Ostapenko: The 2017 Roland Garros champion made her third Wimbledon quarterfinal, thrilling famous fans from Steve Carell to Lil Wayne along the way.

Yulia Putintseva: The Kazakh added another highlight to a resurgent season by stunning No.1 Iga Swiatek in the Wimbledon third round. Both of Putintseva's wins over reigning World No.1 players have come on grass: she also beat then-No.1 Naomi Osaka at 2019 Birmingham.

Jessica Bouzas Maneiro: The Spaniard pulled off something that had only been done once before in the Open Era by upsetting the defending Wimbledon champion in the first round.

From tattoos to horses, five things to know about Jessica Bouzas Maneiro

Bouzas Maneiro knocked out last year's titlist Marketa Vondrousova on Centre Court, which was the first Grand Slam main-draw win of the 22-year-old's career. Before this year, the only defending Wimbledon champion to lose first round in the Open Era was Stefanie Graf, who was ousted by former Top 10 player Lori McNeil in 1994.

Winning Words

"I got 500 text messages. I didn't know that many people had my number." -- Taylor Townsend

Message and data rates may apply, but it's unlikely that Taylor Townsend will worry too much about that after clinching her first Grand Slam title. Townsend partnered with Katerina Siniakova to hoist the Wimbledon women's doubles trophy.

The activity on Siniakova's phone is possibly a bit more muted, as this has become a regular occurrence for the Czech. This is her ninth Grand Slam doubles title, and her second straight with two different partners. She won Roland Garros last month alongside Coco Gauff.

Repeat Performances

Hsieh Su-wei and Jan Zielinski claimed the mixed doubles title on Centre Court at Wimbledon on Sunday, improving to 13-1 in mixed doubles events this year. Hsieh and Zielinski matched their title-winning performance from the 2024 Australian Open.

Another of this year's Australian Open champions, Renata Jamrichova, did the exact same thing. The 17-year-old from Slovakia ended her junior career by winning her second junior singles Slam title on No.1 Court at Wimbledon.

From the Camera Roll

It Means Everything (Pt. 1): Barbora Krejcikova celebrates with her player box after capturing the Wimbledon crown:

It Means Everything (Pt. 2): An emotional Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend hug it out after grinding out two tiebreak sets in the Wimbledon doubles final:

Celebrities, they're just like us: Zendaya takes in a tense moment during the singles final: 

Notable Numbers

32: Ranked No.32, Barbora Krejcikova is the second-lowest-ranked woman to win Wimbledon since the WTA Rankings started in 1975. Her fellow Czech Marketa Vondrousova was ranked 10 spots lower at No.42 when she won the title last year. (Also, Krejcikova was ranked almost exactly the same when she won her first Grand Slam singles title at 2021 Roland Garros at No.33.)

7: Krejcikova had won just seven tour-level matches this year before Wimbledon. In the Open Era, only Venus Williams had won fewer matches in a year before winning that year's Wimbledon title. Williams had posted six victories for the year coming into 2000 Wimbledon, where she won her first Grand Slam singles title.

8: Before this year, Jasmine Paolini had zero grass-court wins at WTA main-draw level. She picked up her first eight this year, winning two main-draw matches at Eastbourne before charging all the way to the Wimbledon final.

3: Great Britain's Emma Raducanu, Harriet Dart and Sonay Kartal reached the third round of their home Grand Slam this fortnight. It is the first time that three British women made the third round of Wimbledon since 1984, 40 years ago.

39: Semifinalist Elena Rybakina led Wimbledon in aces, firing 39 during the event. Rybakina strengthens her grip as the tour leader in total aces for 2024, with 306 for the season so far.

Hot Shot

Watch Donna Vekic crack open a stirring rally with a forehand winner during her enthralling fourth-round match against Paula Badosa:

Next Up

The Hologic WTA Tour slides back to the clay for a pair of WTA 250 events starting on Monday.

The 35th edition of the Palermo Ladies Open will take place in Sicily, with top seed Zheng Qinwen back in an attempt to defend her first career WTA singles title. Zheng will face Italian veteran Sara Errani in a marquee first round.

And in Budapest, the 28th edition of the Hungarian Grand Prix will take place. The draw is led by rising 20-year-old Diana Shnaider, who has won two WTA titles already this year and enters the tournament at a career-high ranking.