Under sunny skies on Wednesday, Barbora Krejcikova advanced to her maiden Wimbledon quarterfinal by defeating Latvian 13th seed Jelena Ostapenko 6-4, 7-6 (4) in a match between former French Open champions.
Ostapenko’s attempt to win a second Grand Slam championship after winning her first in 2017 fell apart on Court One, but the 31st-seeded Czech player maintained her cool from the back of the court to force her opponent into 35 unforced errors throughout the match.
Though Krejcikova’s first Grand Slam victory came at Roland Garros in 2021, she had never before amassed a five-match winning streak on grass.
“There have been many doubts from the inside, but also from outside — from the outside world,” stated Krejcikova, who had a meager 6-9 record when she joined the All England Club in 2024. “But I’m super happy than I never gave up and that I’m standing here right now.”
The 27-year-old Ostapenko had a strong serve but had trouble placing it; in the first set, she landed fewer than half of her first serves. The 2021 French Open winner, Krejcikova, broke in the third game and won the first set.
In the second set, Ostapenko came back to break her opponent and take a 4-1 lead. But errors plagued her once more, and Krejcikova prevailed in four games to take a 5-4 lead.
The match proceeded to a tiebreaker, where Krejcikova’s outstanding crosscourt forehand struck the far line to give her a mini-break. She then used that opportunity to close out the match and earn her first victory against the Latvian in their last four meetings.
In the semifinals, Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon winner, will play Krejcikova.
While Rybakina relished the unusual opportunity to see the sun, she had no desire to stay on Centre Court longer than required, as she defeated Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-2 to terminate her quarterfinal challenge.
Rybakina improved to 19-2 at Wimbledon in four visits by using her eighth ace to close out the victory.
“Definitely, I have an aggressive style of game,” Rybakina stated. “I have a huge serve, so it’s a big advantage.”
Her match lasted one hour and one minute, which was less time than Krejcikova’s second set against Ostapenko, during which Ostapenko once told her coach to go out of the stands.