Wimbledon 2024 Final: Jasmine Paolini vs Barbora Krejcikova preview, head-to-head, prediction and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (7) Jasmine Paolini vs (31) Barbora Krejcikova
Date: July 13, 2024
Tournament: Wimbledon 2024
Round: Final
Venue: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, England
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Grass
Prize Money: £50,000,000
Live Telecast: USA - ESPN, Tennis Channel | UK - BBC | Canada - TSN/RDS, ESPN International
Jasmine Paolini vs Barbora Krejcikova preview
Jasmine Paolini and Barbora Krejcikova fought through their respective semifinal encounters to set up an unlikely showdown in the final at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships.
Paolini, the seventh seed at this year’s tournament, came back from a set down and twice from a break down in the decider to oust Donna Vekic 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(8) in the longest women’s singles semifinal in tournament history. The win helped her become just the fifth woman in the last 25 years to reach the Wimbledon and French Open finals in the same year.
The Italian has posted big wins over the likes of Emma Navarro, Bianca Andreescu and Madison Keys over the fortnight — improving her already impressive win-loss for the season to 30-12.
Krejcikova, meanwhile, played herself into form here at the All England Club. The Czech had come into the tournament with a negative win-loss for the season at 7-9 and no victories against top-20 players to show for. The former French Open champion has since picked up three, including her gritty win over World No. 4 Elena Rybakina in the semifinals.
Her supreme redirection skills and variety has come to the fore during the course of the tournament as she has neutralized the pace coming at her from the likes of Rybakina, Jelena Ostapenko and Danielle Collins.
Jasmine Paolini vs Barbora Krejcikova head-to-head
Krejcikova leads Paolini in their current head-to-head 1-0. The two, however, met way back in 2018 with the Czech winning their Australian Open qualification match in straight sets.
Jasmine Paolini vs Barbora Krejcikova odds
(Odds will be updated when available.)
Jasmine Paolini vs Barbora Krejcikova prediction
Both Jasmine Paolini and Barbora Krejcikova have been in a Grand Slam final once before. While the results were different for the two, the experience will come in handy when they step out on Centre Court on Saturday.
The Italian, for one, can really dig into the experience of having played some big matches of late. Given that she had never won a grasscourt match prior to this season, her run at this year’s Wimbledon is surprising and deserved.
Paolini has spoken about her efforts to change her approach to tennis staring this year. She has steered away from her past counter-punching pattern towards an aggressive approach. The results have shown — she has won over 50% points on second serve return in every match this fortnight. Her footwork and ability to stay low with the ball has contributed to those numbers as well.
Krejcikova, meanwhile, has also struck a balance between being proactive and using her varied slices and short angles to outfox opponents.
The Czech is a master at using her opponent’s power against them, as evidenced by her wins over Rybakina, Ostapenko and Collins. Paolini, however, is different. She is unlikely to feed Krejcikova pace and that’s where the troubles begin for the latter.
Krejcikova, crafty as she is, is not the best equipped at creating her own pace on every shot. She struggled against Veronika Kudermetova and Katie Volynets, neither of whom gave her too much to work with in terms of power.
The Czech also has a “weaker” wing in the form of that forehand, which can break under pressure given the huge takeback. Paolini is likely to do her homework and will look to target that side.
The French Open final loss to Iga Swiatek would have also fuelled the Italian’s hunger for a win. If she can continue to problem-solve during matches and fight as hard as she has all fortnight, she could well walk away with her maiden Grand Slam trophy in her hands.
Prediction: Paolini to win in three sets.