Before the match of the third round at Roland Garros, Barbora Krejčíková cried. Her former coach, the late Wimbledon winner Jana Novotná, would celebrate her 52nd birthday today. But she came to the court determined, tried to have fun with tennis and rejoiced in the victory over Bulgaria’s Cvetana Pironkova and in the premier advance to the grand slam round in the singles.
“I am very moved and it is really unusual for me to be able to win today. Jana would have a birthday and I would like to dedicate it to her because she would be excited about my result,” Krejčíková told reporters at a video conference.
For Krejčíková, Novotná means a lot. Six years ago, she bravely asked her to cooperate and then trained under the former world number two. “Thanks to her, I continued and didn’t go to school. I ended up in juniors at eighteen and didn’t know which way to go. She told me to go ahead and make sure she always trusts me. Thanks to her, I’m here and I have four grand slam titles, two each from double and mix, “she confessed.
Already on Thursday, Krejčíková found out that she would play on the birthday of Novotná, who died of cancer three years ago. “I knew it would be hard, and I cried a little before the match because it hit me,” Krejčíková said.
She talked to her friend before the match. The former tennis player told her to play for Novotná. “That it’s time now, but I couldn’t, because I’d be moved, which wouldn’t help me. I’d be nervous and stiff, so I’d rather think that even if I lost, nothing would happen and Jana would be proud of me, “she repeated.
She played the match with Pironkova in a concentrated manner and brought the match to a victorious end. “It was hard, up and down. I mainly tried to get in my head for a moment to have fun with tennis, no matter how it turns out,” Krejčíková stated.
By advancing to the round of 16, she confirmed her breakthrough into the world hundred in singles. She repeated that she had tried hard to do it before, which was holding her back. “Now I have come to terms with the fact that I will never give it up and I will be an elite debist,” said the Brno native, who was also helped by this year’s coronavirus break, because she had time for more consistent singles training.
He is happy with the first promotion to the grand slam round in the singles, not only thanks to Novotná. She is glad that it succeeded in Paris. “I love clay and Roland Garros. I played the main singles competition here for the first time the year before last and won the first doubles grand slam. It’s a special place for me. I enjoy it and it energizes me,” she said.
The success in singles is a great satisfaction for twenty-four-year-old Krejčík. “I am proud to have shown how I can play and that I can be successful in singles. The right time has come, everything has finally gone,” she said.
And theoretically, her journey doesn’t have to end yet. Her next opponent will be the qualifying player Nadia Podoroská from Argentina, the 131st tennis player in the world. “Hard to say,” she shrugged, wondering if she felt a chance. “She won three matches in the main competition, she is a claywoman and these conditions must suit her. I will solve it only after the doubles,” she said that she will not think about the duel until Saturday’s doubles. He will start the match for the quarterfinals on Sunday.
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