Barbora Krejcikova has won her first Wimbledon title after going the distance against Jasmine Paolini in the final on Saturday. (More Tennis News)
After a scare in the second set, the Czech rallied in a tight decider to win 6-2 2-6 6-4 in just under two hours on Centre Court.
Krejcikova could not have hoped for a better start as she asserted her dominance with a vital break in the first game.
Though Paolini successfully defended two break points during her next serve, she struggled to match her opponent's intensity as Krejcikova raced to a 5-1 advantage.
Paolini came out on a mission in the second set, though, with the Italian reeling off three games in a row.
A second break for Paolini forced the decider, and it was not until the seventh game of that set that Krejcikova found the edge.
A gripping final game swung one way and then the other, Paolini clawing back two championship points either side seeing a break attempt of her own reeled in by Krejcikova.
Yet it was a case of third time lucky when Paolini went long, handing Krejcikova her second major crown.
Krejcikova shines in the spotlight
Krejcikova said before the final that she wanted to enjoy her time in the spotlight after making complaints last year that other names on the WTA Tour were being given more focus.
She had won just three singles matches in five months coming into Wimbledon, but firmly put that form behind her.
On her way to the title, she pulled off three big shocks, knocking out Danielle Collins, Jelena Ostapenko, and Elena Rybakina.
Krejcikova's triumph on Saturday means she has won 13 main draw matches at the All England Club, level with her career-best at the Australian Open (13).
And, following her French Open win three years ago, Krejcikova is just the first Czech player in the Open Era to secure the Women's Singles grand slam titles at different events.
So close, but so far
It has been quite the year for Paolini, who reached her first-ever grand slam final at the French Open last month, only to lose to Iga Swiatek.
And one has become two with this dream run at SW19.
Before this year, she had never won a match at All England Club, exiting in the first round in her previous three appearances. In fact, she had not won a Tour-level match on grass until June, when she reached the semi-finals of Eastbourne.
She went on to win six more at Wimbledon, but could not maintain that momentum in the final.
Paolini has now joined an unwanted list as the sixth woman to lose both the French Open and Wimbledon finals in the same calendar year, after Evonne Goolagong (1972), Chris Evert (1973 and 1984), Olga Morozova (1974), Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (1995 and 1996) and Venus Williams (2002).
