Barbora Krejcikova, the 2024 Wimbledon champion, staged a remarkable comeback to defeat French Open winner Mirra Andreeva 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in a second-round thriller on Centre Court, ending the teenager's bid to join an exclusive group of players who have won both Roland Garros and Wimbledon before turning 20.
Andreeva's Historic Ambition Falls Short
Only four women in the post-1968 Open era—Maureen Connolly, Evonne Goolagong, Chris Evert, and Steffi Graf—have achieved the clay-to-grass double at those majors before their 20th birthdays. Andreeva, 19, walked onto Centre Court with fair hopes of adding her name to that list after her French Open triumph last month. However, Krejcikova, herself a winner of both European grand slams, proved too resilient in a match that lasted two hours and 45 minutes.
A Contest of Grit and Resilience
The midsummer switch from clay to grass is notoriously challenging, but Andreeva's run to the quarter-finals last year suggested the surface held few fears. Against a player with a champion's attitude to match her own, however, it proved more difficult. The contest remained in the balance until the final net-cord winner that got Krejcikova over the line.
In a dramatic ninth game of the deciding set, Krejcikova served for the match at 5-3. She had fought back from a set down after being largely outplayed for the first set-and-a-half, finding her rhythm on forehand to level the match. Serving at 40-0, she saw her first match point evaporate after offering up an easy overhead to Andreeva, then watched in despair as a forehand hit the cord twice and dropped on her side of the court. A double-fault followed, and three more match points came and went as Andreeva found the lines with a series of forehands, including one that was a millimetre from being her last shot. Krejcikova finally sent a weak second serve wide on the seventh advantage of the game.
It felt like a potential turning point, with the final set back on serve and heading for a 10-point tie-break, but Krejcikova summoned a final effort to break in the next game. Andreeva hurled her racket from the baseline to her chair as her desperate attempt to return Krejcikova's net-cord sailed long.
Krejcikova: 'What a Match'
“The atmosphere was great and we’ve been fighting for almost three hours,” Krejcikova said. “What a match. I think this is the fifth time I’ve played with Mirra and it’s always been a huge fight. She is such a young and unique player, she has everything in front of her. I’m really happy that we were able to put on a great show and that we were fighting until the final point, and I’m extremely proud that I’ve managed to win on this beautiful Centre Court.”
Krejcikova, who has dropped from a high of No. 2 in the world in 2022 to a current ranking of 38, hopes to build on the win to return closer to her previous status. “It’s definitely very special,” she said. “I’ve been through a lot with injuries and also in my personal life in the last couple of months. It was really hard to get through with all the emotions and everything that happened. But I put in a lot of work and dedication every single day and try to go day by day.”
Andreeva's Emotional Aftermath
Andreeva was in tears in the post-match media conference, struggling to accept the defeat. “It’s going to take some time,” she said, after needing 30 seconds to compose herself. “She played well. She’s a tricky opponent, especially on grass. She changes the rhythm a lot. The slices and drop shots, here they stay low, they don’t bounce. I’ve had some trouble with that, as well, [and] a lot of mistakes today. She played well, but I felt like I could have also played better. I felt as soon as I won that [ninth] game, I had a lot of great chances to make the score even with my serve. I felt like yes, it could have been a turning point. As you can see, it didn’t work and it wasn’t the turning point in the end.”
