By Tony Fairbairn at Wimbledon
- Jasmine Paolini [7] v Barbora Krejcikova [31]
- H2H: First Meeting
LONDON, ENGLAND – After two dramatic semi-finals, Jasmine Paolini and Barbora Krejcikova will face off for an opportunity to win their maiden Wimbledon title.
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Jasmine Paolini [7] v Barbora Krejcikova [31] H2H & Match Fundamentals
After nearly three hours of pure drama, Jasmine Paolini is into a first Wimbledon final after winning a last set tiebreak against Donna Vekic. The Italian’s remarkable run continues as she is into a second consecutive Grand Slam final and is now aiming to claim her maiden Grand Slam title. Standing in Paolini’s way is Barbora Krejcikova who knocked out former champion Elena Rybakina to reach her maiden Wimbledon final as she bids for a second Grand Slam title.
| Jasmine Paolini [7] v Barbora Krejcikova [31] | H2H: First Meeting |
| Wimbledon 2024 | London, England |
| Grass (O) | Prize Money: £1,400,000/£2,700,000 |
| First on Centre Court (14:00 BST) | BBC Sport |
Both players have endured scares throughout the tournament in order to progress to a maiden Wimbledon final although Krejcikova has had beat three top 15 players in order to set up a meeting with Paolini.
Jasmine Paolini [7] route to the final
R1: Sara Sorribes Tormo 7-5 6-3
R2: Greet Minnen 7-6(5) 6-2
R3: Bianca Andreescu 7-6(4) 6-1
R4: Madison Keys [12] 6-3 6-7(6) 5-5 RET
QF: Emma Navarro [19] 6-2 6-1
SF: Donna Vekic 2-6 6-4 7-6(10-8)
Barbora Krejcikova [31] route to the final
R1: Veronika Kudermetova 7-6(4) 6-7(1) 7-5
R2: Katie Volynets [Q] 7-6(6) 7-6(5)
R3: Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-0 4-3 RET
R4: Danielle Collins [11] 7-5 6-3
QF: Jelena Ostapenko [13] 6-4 7-6(4)
SF: Elena Rybakina [4] 3-6 6-3 6-4
Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (2024)
| H2H: | Jasmine Paolini (WR 7) | Barbora Krejcikova (WR 32) |
| Tournament Previous Best | R1 (2021, 2022, 2023) | R4 (2021) |
| 1st Serve Return Points Won % | 42.3 | 36.5 |
| Return Points Won % | 47.2 | 43.3 |
| Break Point Conversion % | 54.2 | 46.5 |
| Break Point Saved % | 54.2 | 52.8 |
| Total Points Won % | 52.3 | 50.2 |
Paolini has been the braver player on the break points this season, being very efficient in important moments. However, Krejcikova has been the more consistent server heading into a fascinating final.
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Playing Styles and Prediction
It’s been an incredible last couple of months for Paolini as the Italian becomes the first player since Serena Williams in 2016 to reach the Roland Garros and Wimbledon women’s singles final back-to-back.
An extraordinary achievement from Paolini given she hadn’t won a WTA match on grass before this year and will now look to win her maiden Grand Slam title at Wimbledon.
Ahead of the final Paolini spoke about embracing playing on big courts and is feeling relaxed ahead of her second Grand Slam final.
“I think, yes, I would always be like that. Now, I’m really enjoying to play in the big stadium,” Paolini said in her press conference when asked if she wears her heart on her sleeve.
“I feel grateful to the crowd that is watching me. Yeah, I’m just enjoying. I love to play in these kind of courts. It feels more special. Also to play important matches, it’s so special. I’m so grateful that also the crowd was cheering for me. Yeah, it’s a great feeling I think for a tennis player.
“Two Grand Slam finals in a row was crazy to believe, I think, no? I’m also surprising how at the moment, until now in this moment, I’m living this. I feel maybe Saturday I will be so nervous, I don’t know. But I feel also relaxed. I’m the same person. I’m doing the same things.
“Yeah, I don’t know. I’m surprised a little bit how I’m managing this. I don’t want to say more because maybe Saturday I’m going to be shaking. Yeah, I’m surprising by myself to live this with really relaxing mood, you know?”
Another first-time Wimbledon finalist awaits Paolini on Saturday in the form of Krejcikova who is into her second Grand Slam final after knocking out former champion Rybakina.
After a frustrating last couple of years dealing with injuries, Krejcikova has shown why she has the perfect game for grass as she looks to achieve a childhood dream at SW19.
After her semi-final win Krejcikova explained the difficult moments she’s had with injuries and is expecting a tough match against Paolini in the final.
“I mean, during the season it was very difficult. I have had many difficult periods,” Krejcikova said in her press conference.
“I mean, I never really imagined that in, yeah, four weeks I could reach a Wimbledon final, that I can be a different player. But I’m super happy that I am, that I was able to fight through everything, that I’m sitting here and chatting with you guys today.”
Paolini will use the backhand to be aggressive as she will be patient and look to continue her returning efficiency.
Meanwhile Krejcikova will use a mixture of power and slice to force errors from Paolini as being aggressive on serve will be the key to winning this match.
This will be an entertaining and dramatic final with both players playing some gutsy tennis to get to this stage.
Paolini’s overall game is stronger and will enter this match as slight favourite but a tense afternoon awaits in what could be an unpredictable two hours of tennis.
Prediction: Paolini in three sets.
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