PARIS — Thinking of her late coach the whole time, Barbora Kreju010díková went from unseeded to Grand Slam champion at the French Open.
Putting aside a shaky set, Kreju010díková won just her fifth major tournament as a singles player by beating 31st-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 in the final at Roland Garros on Saturday.
When it ended with Pavlyuchenkova’s backhand landing long on the fourth match point for Kreju010díková, a 25-year-old from the Czech Republic, they met at the net for a hug.
Then Kreju010díková blew kisses to the sky, her eyes squeezed shut, in a tribute to her former coach, Jana Novotna, the 1998 Wimbledon champion who died of cancer in 2017.