Latvia’s feisty Jelena Ostapenko self-destructed as Barbora Krejcikova reached her first Wimbledon semi-final.
Ostapenko blazed a trail of winners and cruised to victory in the women’s singles, dropping just 15 games over four matches.
But when unforced errors began to significantly outnumber winners on Court 1, Krejcikova was able to use it to her advantage.
In a split-second quarterfinal match that saw no rallies last more than eight shots, Krejcikova won 6-4, 7-6 (4) to set up a last-four showdown with 2022 champion Elena Rybakina.
“I’m at a loss for words right now,” she said. “I was so passionate about the game that I told myself I was going to give it my all, and I’m so happy that that happened. It’s an incredible moment for me.”
The two former Roland Garros champions got off to contrasting starts, with Ostapenko winning her first service game in under two minutes while Krejcikova opened the match with two double faults.
But the 28-year-old Czech, playing doubles late into Tuesday night, not only held serve but broke Ostapenko’s serve on the next serve.
The match went to a deciding point when Krejcikova narrowly missed her first serve, leaving Ostapenko, who had never dropped more than three games in a set at this championship, at a disadvantage for the first time in a match.
Suddenly, some of the dreaded groundstrokes that had been hitting the line all two weeks were just missing the target.
Ostapenko would be well served to sign a sponsorship deal with a luxury watch company, given that she has taken advantage of every Hawk-Eye challenge available to her. None of them have panned out.
But the 27-year-old from Riga recovered in the fourth game of the second set, converting a break point with a powerful cross-court winner which Krejcikova returned into the net.
A significant hold in the sixth deuce game was made, but in Ostapenko’s next service game she committed two double faults as Krejcikova was back on her opponent’s shoulder.
In the tiebreak, Krejcikova again served beautifully to win the first of three match points and then played calmly to secure a well-deserved victory.
“She played pretty well today, but I think it was because I didn’t try as hard as I should to hit the shots,” Ostapenko said.
“I feel like I’m on the right path. I’m getting better every day.”
“You’re not going to feel your best every day. When you’re not feeling your best, you just try to find your game. I think only good things can come from this.”
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