The double in Paris is possible: Krejcikova succeeds in tennis sensation


The double in Paris is possible
Krejcikova succeeds in tennis sensation

Barbora Krejcikova is only the third unseeded player to win the French Open. The Czech celebrates her first Grand Slam title. And the coup could be even bigger. Because for the 25-year-old even the “double” is possible.

As a clear outsider to the Grand Slam coup: Barbora Krejcikova sensationally won the French Open. The 25-year-old prevailed in a hard-fought final 6: 1, 2: 6, 6: 4 against the Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and thus triumphed as the first Czech since Hana Mandlikova in 1981 – at that time still under the flag of Czechoslovakia.

Krejcikova even has the chance of a rare “double”. The athlete from Brno, who learned so much from the late Czech icon Jana Novotna, is also in the final in doubles and could win both competitions for the first time since Mary Pierce in 2000.

With Krejcikova, a new player was crowned major winner for the sixth year in a row in Paris. She is only the third unseeded player to storm the tournament and collects prize money of 1.4 million euros, Pavlyuchenkova receives 750,000 euros.

Defending champion Iga Swiatek from Poland had already failed in the quarterfinals. In the men’s final on Sunday (3 p.m. / Eurosport and ServusTV), world number one Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas, the conqueror of German number one Alexander Zverev, face each other.

A surprising finale

Pavlyuchenkova versus Krejcikova – no expert would have thought of the surprising final before the competition. They fought their way through a women’s competition in Paris, which was turbulent from the start. The press boycott and the subsequent withdrawal of the four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka caused a real tremor right at the beginning.

Smaller aftershocks followed as more and more favorites like Ashleigh Barty (Australia) or Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) fell. The three German women around Angelique Kerber had already packed their things after the first round – for the first time since 1958, no starter from the German Tennis Association (DTB) made it into the second round. Other players played themselves in the focus.

It was difficult to name a clear favorite for the final between the world rankings 32nd from the Russian Samara and her opponent, who was one place lower. “Today it’s about daily form. Pavlyuchenkova has certainly gained more experience in the last 13 or 14 years,” said national coach Barbara Rittner at Eurosport before the first serve of the finals. The Russian had exuded great ease, but that was quickly over on the pitch.

Krejcikova quickly took on the role of boss in the rallies, distributed well and Pavlyuchenkova initially had no solution – after 32 minutes, the passage went to the Czech. But the picture changed afterwards. Pavlyuchenkova now became more courageous, quickly took the win and equalized in sentences. In the third round, the nerves played an increasingly important role – and Krejcikova stayed cool and celebrated the biggest victory of her career.

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