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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
“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.
“I hope she is going to be proud of me and hopefully I can give her some motivation for tennis and also for life.”
Both players looked confused at one point when loud cheers rang around Centre Court after England beat DR Congo to reach the World Cup last 16.
Krejcikova has been plagued with injuries and dropped down the rankings since her triumph at the All England Club two years ago, while she suffered first-round exits at the Australian Open and Roland Garros earlier this season.
“It’s definitely special. I have been through a lot with injuries and also in my personal life in the last couple months,” the world number 38 added.
“It was really hard to get through with the all the emotions of what has happened.”