Barbora Stuns Again: Wins Second Grand Slam at Wimbledon.

Barbora Krejcikova continued to defy expectations by securing her second Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, a victory that neither her friends, family, nor even she herself saw coming.

Krejcikova, who first captured attention by winning the French Open as an unseeded player three years ago, triumphed again in an unpredictable manner. She defeated Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 in the final at the All England Club on Saturday. While this victory might seem surprising, it’s becoming clear that such successes from Krejcikova are not only possible but expected.

“Nobody believes that I got to the final. And I think nobody’s going to believe that I won Wimbledon,” Krejcikova said minutes later. “I still cannot believe it. It’s unbelievable.” She called it “definitely the best day of my tennis career — and also the best day of my life.” The 28-year-old from the Czech Republic expressed gratitude to her late mentor, 1998 Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna, for inspiring her journey into professional tennis.

Even while holding her gold champion’s plate, Krejcikova humbly referred to herself as “the lucky one” for having surpassed the seventh-seeded Paolini, who was also the runner-up at the French Open last month.

Krejcikova was only the 31st of 32 seeds at the All England Club after illness and a back injury this season limited her to a 7-9 record entering this tournament. Then came a three-setter in the first round last week, adding to the doubts. But by the end of the fortnight, there Paolini was during the trophy ceremony, telling Krejcikova: “You play such beautiful tennis.”

Krejcikova is the eighth woman to leave Wimbledon as the champion in the past eight editions of the event. Last year’s champion also hails from the Czech Republic: unseeded Marketa Vondrousova, who lost in the first round last week.