'Nobody will believe I won Wimbledon - I still can't'

As Barbora Krejcikova stood with the Venus Rosewater Dish in her hands, there was one thing she could not stop saying.

"I don't have any words right now, it's just unbelievable," the Czech said, to cheers from the crowd.

Asked what it means to the Czech Republic to have another Wimbledon champion, she said: "Well, I think nobody believes it that I got to the final and nobody believes that I won Wimbledon.

"I still can't believe it."

Krejcikova arrived at SW19 having won just three matches in five months, the result of a season plagued by injury and illness.

She leaves it as the Wimbledon champion, winning through seven matches in a row and closing it out with a thrilling 6-2 2-6 6-4 victory against seventh seed Jasmine Paolini.

The tournament began for Krejcikova with a tough three-set win over Veronika Kudermetova - a pair of tie-breaks followed by a 7-5 decider.

From somewhere, Krejcikova found the game that made the unbelievable dream a reality.

"Two weeks ago I had a very tough match, and I wasn't in good shape before that because I was injured and ill," she said.

"I didn't really have a good beginning to the season. It's unbelievable I'm stood here now and I've won Wimbledon.

"I have no idea [how it happened]."

The memory of Jana Novotna, Wimbledon champion in 1998, has been ever-present during the former French Open champion's run to this title.

Aged 18, Krejcikova and her parents visited Novotna's home and asked for her help.

Novotna agreed, becoming both coach and mentor. She and Krejcikova remained close until Novotna's death from ovarian cancer in 2017 aged just 49.

The pair's names are now both etched on the women's champions board at Wimbledon - a sight that brought Krejcikova to tears as she stood there with the trophy afterwards.

"That day, knocking on her door, it changed my life," Krejcikova said in her on-court interview.

"She was the one who told me I had the potential and I should definitely turn pro. Before she passed away she told me I can win a Slam.

"I achieved that in Paris in 2021 and it was an unbelievable moment for me and I never really dreamed I would win the same trophy as Jana did in 1998."