Unseeded Barbora Krejcikova Wins French Open Women’s Title

Joaquin Heredia, Sports, The Pawprint 

After 3 hours, Barbora Krejcikova claimed her first Grand Slam title by defeating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova   6-1, 2-6, 6-4. 

The 25 year old celebrated in tears in tribute to her former coach, Jana Novotna, the 1998 Wimbledon champion who died of cancer in 2017. Barbora states “Pretty much her last words were just enjoy and just try to win a Grand Slam”.

An unseeded player winning the title did not come as a surprise, as this year’s tournament was filled with surprises. Top players pulled out, including Naomi Osaka, others were knocked out early in the tournament, for example Serena Williams who lost in the fourth round.

On the men’s side, Rafael Nadal fell to Djokovic in his first ever French Open semi-final in a 4 ½ hour blockbuster match. The Serbian faces Stefanos Tsitsipas today and hopes to claim his 19th Grand slam final.