Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Barbora Krejcikova Roland-Garros

Thinking of her late coach the whole time, Barbora Krejcikova went from unseeded to Grand Slam champion at the French Open.

Krejcikova beat 31st-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 in the final at Roland Garros on Saturday to win the women's title in just her fifth major tournament as a singles player.



When it ended with Pavlyuchenkova's backhand landing long on the fourth match point for Krejcikova, a 25-year-old from the Czech Republic, they met at the net for a hug.

Then Krejcikova blew kisses, her eyes squeezed shut, in tribute to her former coach, Jana Novotna, the 1998 Wimbledon champion who died of cancer in 2017.

"Pretty much her last words were just enjoy and just try to win a Grand Slam. And, I mean, I know that, from somewhere, she's looking after me," Krejcikova told the crowd at Court Philippe Chatrier, limited to 5,000 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"All of this that just happened, these two weeks, is pretty much because she is just looking after me from up there," Krejcikova said, lifting her left hand toward the sky. "It was amazing that I had a chance to meet her and that she was such an inspiration for me. I just really miss her. But I hope she's happy right now. I'm extremely happy."



Krejcikova is the third unseeded women's champion since 2017 at Roland Garros. There were none from 1968 to 2016.

She now will try to become the first woman since Mary Pierce in 2000 to win the French Open singles and doubles titles in the same year. Krejcikova and partner Katerina Siniakova already own two Grand Slam doubles titles and reached Sunday's final of that event.

When Naomi Osaka announced she would not speak with reporters at the French Open, the event organizers said they tried to speak with her about it before the No. 2 ranked player ultimately withdrew.

"We really tried to engage with Naomi several times, several ways, including on the practice courts, including in writing," said Amelie Oudea-Castera, the French tennis federation director general, via the Associated Press.

French Open organizers said during the event's closing news conference that they took a "pragmatic" approach in dealing with Osaka, who cited mental health concerns in not speaking with reporters.



French Open organizers: We purposely didn't levy highest fine
Osaka said she experienced anxiety ahead of speaking with the media after tennis matches. She said in her initial statement on Twitter she would not "subject myself to people who doubt me."

The four-time Grand Slam winner did not speak with media following a first-round victory. The French Open fined her $15,000.

Tennis players are required to attend news conferences if requested and face a maximum $20,000 fine if they violate the rules. Oudea-Castera noted on Sunday that the fine levied was not the maximum.

"On purpose we only wanted to be at 15 because we wanted to send a message that we wouldn't go to a default right away," she said. "We wanted to have a progressive escalation should she continue not to commit to her obligations."

The larger issue was not the fine, which Osaka admitted would come, it was a joint statement from the four Grand Slam tournament organizers the she faced defaults if she continued to shirk media obligations.

Oudea-Castera said organizers attempted to speak with Osaka before they made that statement. The organizer said they wrote to her to explain the consequences.

"So we had to remind the rules of the game," Oudea-Castera said, via the Associated Press. "There is a specific book explaining that. And when you regularly default your obligations without giving specific explanations in particular, you expose yourself to a default or more permanent sanction. We wanted her to know because it was a way to protect her to explain that to her."