At the age of 12, Barbora Krejcikova wrote in a notebook three things she wanted to achieve in the future, if she was fortunate enough to make it as a professional tennis player. At that stage, she had no idea if she would be able to make a living from the sport but she was dreaming big.
"I think I wrote there that I wanted to be a top 10 tennis player," the Czech said on Saturday evening, a few hours after becoming Wimbledon champion for the first time with a thrilling win against Italy's Jasmine Paolini.
"I think I wrote there that I would like to win Roland Garros and I think I wrote there that I would like to represent Czech Republic during the Olympics and get the medal." Tick, tick, tick. Krejcikova had already achieved all three things before coming to Wimbledon.
She has been ranked as high as No 2, won the French Open in 2021 and won the doubles gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics with Katerina Siniakova.
Winning Wimbledon was not something she had considered at that stage and it was only after she met Jana Novotna, her compatriot and winner here in 1998, that triumphing on the grass entered her mind.
This story is from the July 15, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the July 15, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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