KREJČÍKOVÁ CONTINUES CZECH LEGACY; AUSSIE HEARTBREAK: WIMBLEDON DAY 13

Following in the late Jana Novotná’s footsteps, 31st seed Barbora Krejčíková claimed her maiden Wimbledon title in a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 encounter against pocket-rocket Jasmine Paolini.

Novotná, champion in 1998, sadly passed away seven years ago but was Krejčíková’s mentor growing up.

A French Open champion in 2021 and a seven-time Grand Slam doubles winner, Krejčíková was unfazed by the occasion on Centre Court, serving impeccably well to rattle the Italian, claiming 10 of the first 11 points.

Attaining a high first-serve percentage in the 90’s, Krejčíkova won the early battles from the baseline - forcing Paolini to adapt and change her approach, coming to the net and deploying drop shots.

After failing to grab the opening set for the second consecutive Grand Slam final, Paolini started to grow into the contest and utilised her power and aggression into winners to equalise the scoreline after two sets.

Locked at 3-3 in the decider, the seventh game is always touted as the most important, as Paolini crumbled under pressure to hand the Czech a priceless advantage.

She rediscovered her momentum on serve, barely giving Paolini a sniff as her placement and accuracy were off the charts - converting on her third championship point to become a dual singles Grand Slam champion.

“It’s just unreal what just happened. Definitely the best day of my tennis career — and also the best day of my life,” Krejčíková said.

“Nobody believes that I got to the final. And I think nobody’s going to believe that I won Wimbledon. I still cannot believe it. It’s unbelievable.”

She has added her name to Czech folklore over the past decade with dual winner Petra Kvitová and last year's winner Markéta Vondroušová earning their names on the trophy.

The win sees Krejčíková move back into the top 10, while Paolini should hold her head high with a career-high ranking of No.5 in the world, set to be official on Monday.

HEARTBREAK FOR AUSSIES DOUBLES PAIR

Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell suffered agonising pain, letting slip three championship points to lose 6-7(7), 7-6(8), 7-6(9) against Finland's Harri Heliövaara and Great Britain's Henry Patten.

Not a single break of serve in three sets required three of the closest tiebreaks imaginable, but they were unable to capitalise in the key moments on Centre Court.

They had championship point at 6-5 in the second set and a further two opportunities in the following tiebreak, as Thompson missed a routine volley on the third match point at 8-7.

"Plain and simple, it just sucks. Match points, one point away from being a Wimbledon doubles champion," said Thomspon after the match.

"Five-two up, serving in that second-set breaker, I got the ball right in front of me and it's just clipped the net cord and gone over me and then that's turned things around, and it changes quickly. That's the way tennis goes. It's tough."

Tiebreaks were the norm on day 13 in the doubles, as Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniaková claimed their first title together to defeat Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe 7-6(5), 7-6(1) in the women's doubles final.

AUSSIE TEEN SENSATION FINAL BOUND

16-year-old Australian Emerson Jones has qualified for the Junior Girls’ final, breaking down sixth seed Iva Jović 7-5, 6-1.

For the first time this tournament, Jones lost more than three games in a set, but the teenager still found a way to dig deep and prevail in straight sets.

Jones will face No.1 seed Renata Jamrichova in the final - a rematch of the Australian Open Juniors final earlier this year, with the Slovakian coming out on top.