LONDON (Reuters) – Barbora Krejcikova produced a superb comeback to reach her first Wimbledon final, showing stubborn resilience in the face of a relentless attacking barrage from former champion Elena Rybakina to triumph 3-6 6-3 6-4 on Thursday.
Kazakhstan’s Rybakina had threatened to run away with the contest in the first set, racing to a 5-1 lead with her brand of full-throttle high intensity tennis.
Yet after losing the opener, the 2021 French Open champion dug in and eventually fathomed the puzzle on the other side of the net, breaking in the sixth game of the second set before levelling the contest.
With the momentum having shifted in her favour, the Czech took control in the decider, breaking in the seventh game when Rybakina netted an attempted dropshot.
She brought up three match points with a smash at the net before kicking off the celebrations when Rybakina sent a backhand return long.
Krejcikova will take on seventh seed Jasmine Paolini in the final after the Italian overcame Donna Vekic in a marathon encounter earlier on Centre Court.
(Reporting by Toby Davis, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
