just 49. “I think it all comes down to having a really goodmindset,” Krejcikova told tennishead . “I had a really goodmentor in Jana Novotna. She taught me how to handle situations. She toldme stories about how she handled pressure and how she handled difficult situations when she was playing. She fought back after losing Grand Slam finals. All of that helpedme. “When I wonmy first Grand Slam singles title everything happened really fast. There wasn’t much time to enjoy it or to understand what had happened. I just kept playing. I just said to myself: ‘OK, I won the tournament, but I want to keep going, I want to do well, I want to win other tournaments. I don’t want to be someone who wins a Slam and then loses in the first round six tournaments in a row. That’s not who I want to be.’ “I just kept practising, working hard. After winning Roland Garros it wasn’t as if I felt satisfied. After I won there I was very happy and I felt amazing, but afterwards therewas nomore Roland Garros.There was another tournament to play. You have to change yourmindset. You have to tell yourself: ‘OK, winning Roland Garros was perfect, but now it’sWimbledon - and you’re not going there to lose in the first round’.” There are some other crucial differences between Krejcikova and some other recent first-time Grand Slam champions. Kenin, Andreescu, Jelena Ostapenko, Iga Swiatek and Emma Raducanu, for example, were all aged 21 or under when they won their first Grand Slam singles titles, whereas Krejcikova was 25. She played her first tournament on the International Tennis Federation circuit 12 years ago and made her debut on theWomen’s Tennis Association tour eight years ago.
Perfect in Paris Barbora Krejcikova on her way to victory at last year's French Open
‘I don’t want to be someone who wins a Grand Slam title and then loses in the first round six tournaments in a row’
Paris, where she also won the doubles title, give reason to believe that she will not be a one-hit wonder. In her subsequent Grand Slam appearances in singles, Krejcikova made the fourth round at Wimbledon before losing to the eventual champion, Ashleigh Barty, went one round better in New York before going out to Aryna Sabalenka and also made the quarter-finals in Melbourne, where she was beaten by Madison Keys. Since Roland Garros she has also won a title in Prague, reached a final in Sydney and consolidated her position near the top of the world singles rankings. Krejcikova gives much of the credit for her ability to cope with the stresses of being a Grand Slamwinner to the former Wimbledon champion, Jana Novotna, who guided her fellow Czech’s career until her death four and a half years ago at the age of
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