Barbora Krejcikova claimed her maiden Grand Slam title when she beat Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1 2-6 6-4 in the French Open final on Saturday.
The 25-year-old is the first Czech to lift the Suzanne Lenglen Cup since Hana Mandlikova, who represented Czechoslovakia, triumphed in 1981.
Krejcikova won six games in a row to take the opening set after dropping serve in the first, before Pavlyuchenkova gained the upper hand in the second set.
The Russian had her left thigh taped at 5-2 but served it out to level at one-set all before Krejcikova broke decisively for 4-3 in the decider to extend her winning streak on clay to 12 matches.
Barbora Krejcikova career to date
- Started her professional career on the ITF circuit in 2010 and was ranked junior world number three in 2013, when she won the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open girls’ doubles titles with compatriot Katerina Siniakova.
- Made her WTA Tour debut in 2014 and won her first WTA doubles titles with An-Sophie Mestach at the Coupe Banque Nationale in 2015.
- Made her breakthrough in 2016 by qualifying for the women’s doubles semi-finals at the French Open with Siniakova. Also reached the U.S. Open quarter-finals with her Czech partner the same year.
- Won the women’s doubles title in 2018 at the French Open and Wimbledon with Siniakova, with the pair ending the year as the top-ranked doubles players.
- Won the mixed doubles title with American Rajeev Ram at the 2019 Australian Open, while also reaching the Wimbledon women’s doubles semis with Siniakova.
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