Barbora Krejcikova dedicated her thrilling three-set Wimbledon win over French Open champion Mirra Andreeva to her tennis-loving niece, who was stuck at home with chickenpox.<\/p>\n
The Czech, who won the women’s singles title at Wimbledon in 2024, toppled the fifth seed 4-6 7-5 6-4 after almost three gruelling hours on court.<\/p>\n
Krejcikova came close to letting victory slip from her grasp as she missed six match points at 5-3 up in the deciding set, but she regained her composure to see out victory a game later as Andreeva’s emotions got the better of her.<\/p>\n
Krejcikova said afterwards that she hoped her performance on Centre Court – which she called “the best court in the world” – made her young niece proud.<\/p>\n
“I believe my little niece was watching, and my nephew. She is also playing tennis and she loves it so hope she was watching,” the 30-year-old said.<\/p>\n
“She’s actually sick, I think she has chickenpox. My nephew got it from kindergarten, so I hope my brother let her and my nephew watch this match. <\/p>\n
“I hope she is going to be proud of me and hopefully I can give her some motivation for tennis and also for life.”<\/p>\n