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Pavlyuchenkova Roland Garros 2021
Roland Garros, Tennis News, WTA Tennis Players

Womens French Open Final preview: Who will win their first ever Grand Slam?


Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Barbora Krejcikova will battle it out in Saturday’s French Open final, with both players eager to get their hands on their first Grand Slam trophy. 

With recent Roland Garros champions Ash Barty and Iga Swiatek, as well as the likes of Aryna Sabalenka in the draw, very few would’ve picked out Pavlyuchenkova and Krejcikova as their 2021 finalists.

Before this event, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had reached the quarter-finals in every single Grand Slam in both singles and doubles, but progressed no further.

Finally, at the age of 29, the Russian has now broken through this barrier and won her semi-final in straight sets to reach her first Grand Slam final.

En route to the biggest match in Paris, the 31st seed beat higher ranked players in Aryna Sabalenka, Victoria Azarenka and Elena Rybakina before ousting Tamara Zidansek last time out.

Unlike Pavlunchenkova, Barbora Krejcikova has already tasted success on Parisian soil once before, winning the doubles in 2018 alongside long-time psrtner Katerina Siniakova.

On Sunday, Krejcikova and Siniakova will play for their third Major title as a team, though the Czech star will have her eyes firmly focused on her singles battle.

Krejcikova has been mightily impressive in Paris this year, with her two most eye-catching performances coming against Elina Svitolina and Coco Gauff, with the Czech player somehow surviving five set points to win in straight sets.

The match between Pavlyunchenkova and Krejcikova breaks new ground in many different ways – not only is this their first Major singles final, but also their first ever meeting.

The Russian certainly has experience on her side in her 14th year of Grand Slam competition, having taken a record-breaking 52 Slams to reach the final match.

25-year-old Krejcikova on the other hand, has only had four previous appearances in the main draw at a Major before Roland Garros, including a fourth round appearance in Paris last year.

Regardless of who comes out on top, this year’s Roland Garros will follow a similar pattern in crowning a first time Major champion for the sixth year in succession.


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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.