Krejcikova in Wimbledon spotlight at last with final clash against Paolini

LONDON, United Kingdom — Barbora Krejcikova is relishing her moment in the Wimbledon spotlight as she prepares for Saturday's final against Jasmine Paolini -- just a year after complaining that she was not regarded as one of the sport's top stars.

Krejcikova felt overshadowed by the likes of Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina when she voiced her concerns about being ignored in conversations about the best female players.

"It's about Iga, Aryna, and Elena, and I'm not really there," she said at the time.

The Czech was already a Grand Slam winner by then, having clinched the French Open title in 2021, and had victories over Swiatek, Sabalenka and Rybakina to her credit.

But Krejcikova appeared to have lost her campaign to be seen as an elite player when a combination of injury and illness sent her crashing down the rankings.

By the time she arrived at Wimbledon two weeks ago, the world number 32 was reeling after a disappointing first round exit at the French Open.

Yet Krejcikova has spent the last fortnight reasserting her credentials to be regarded alongside world number one Swiatek and company.

"I felt I had to improve everything. I think I definitely got better on faster surfaces," she said.

"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."

Krejcikova, who will be playing in her second Grand Slam final, had won just three singles matches in five months before finding her form at Wimbledon.

The 28-year-old shocked 11th seed Danielle Collins in the fourth round and former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the quarter-finals before a stunning three-set win over 2022 champion Rybakina in the last four.

Krejcikova is inspired by 1998 All England Club winner Jana Novotna, who worked as her coach for a period before dying of cancer in 2017.

"She was telling me a lot of stories about her journeys here and how she was trying to win Wimbledon. I was so far when we had this talk and now I'm in the final," said Krejcikova.

"I have had many difficult periods. I never really imagined I could reach a Wimbledon final."

- 'You are crazy' -

Paolini has set her sights on capping a surprise run to the final by winning her maiden Grand Slam title.

Paolini survived the longest women's singles semi-final in Wimbledon history to beat Donna Vekic 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10/8) after two hours and 51 minutes on Thursday.

The 28-year-old is the first Italian woman to reach the final of the grass-court Grand Slam.

It is an astonishing achievement for Paolini, who had not won a Tour-level match on grass until Eastbourne last month, and lost in the first round on her previous three visits to Wimbledon.

She had also failed to go beyond the second round of a Grand Slam until this year.

But 2024 has been a breakthrough campaign for Paolini, who reached her first Grand Slam final at the French Open before losing to Swiatek.

Even Paolini can't quite believe her remarkable rise.

"You are crazy, I would say, yes," she said. "Yeah, I don't have words. Just, yeah, you are crazy," said Paolini.

Seventh seeded Paolini is the first woman to reach back-to-back Roland Garros and Wimbledon finals since Serena Williams in 2016.

The final is just the second time Krejcikova and Paolini have met and their showdown will be a world away from their first encounter.

The pair squared off in the first round of qualifying for the Australian Open in 2018, with Krejcikova claiming a straight sets victory.

"It was a very long time ago, it's been a great journey for both of us to reach the Wimbledon final," Krejcikova said.