French Open underdog Barbora Krejcikova says Jana Novotna is always in her thoughts as she paid tribute to her former coach after reaching the semi-finals.
The world No.33 held her nerve to upset an erratic Coco Gauff and prevail 7-6(6), 6-3, in what is only her fifth Grand Slam main draw appearance. 25-year-old Krejcikova had never won a match at a major until last year. She is currently on a 10-match winning streak after claiming the Strasbourg Open title last month.
Relishing in her breakthrough run in Paris, the Czech has paid tribute to Novotna who once guided her on the Tour before she passed away. Novotna is best remembered for winning the 1998 Wimbledon Championships and reaching a ranking high of No.2 in her career. She passed away in 2017 at just the age of 49 following a battle with cancer.
“I always think about her. Every time I go on court, I step out of the court, I always think about her,” Krejcikova said during her press conference. “I’m always wondering what she would tell me after such a run, all these winning matches and everything.’
“I’m just really sad I cannot actually hear her and she cannot really say anything.
“I feel like she kind of always knew that I can play this high level, that I can play matches like this. But it’s just sad that it didn’t happen earlier (for her to see).”
Krejcikova first met Novotna by turning up at her house one day when she was a junior player looking for advice regarding transitioning into the Pro Tour. She had read an article which said the former Grand Slam champion lived in a village near her. The initial idea was just to get some advice before it ended up being a coaching partnership until 2016. The year when Novotna’s health started to increasingly decline.
Asked about what Novotna would have said to her now if she had still been alive, Krejcikova believes she would have been bursting with pride.
“I think she would just tell me that she’s very proud. That’s what I think she would do. She would just tell me just enjoy it, keep going. It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, you just have to do your best every single time you step on court, just focus on tennis,just play,” she said.
“She would have been just extremely happy – jumping and screaming. That’s how I remember (her). That’s actually what she was doing when I played ITFs and I won ITFs. I guess maybe it would have been even bigger right now.”
Krejcikova will play Greece’s Maria Sakkari in the semi-finals on Thursday at the French Open.
