LONDON (AP) — Barbora Krejcikova has taken the opening set of the Wimbledon women’s final against Jasmine Paolini 6-2 at Centre Court.
In front of a star-studded crowd, Krejcikova broke her opponent in the opening game and raced out to 2-0 lead in just five minutes.
Paolini saved two break points in the next game before holding but the Italian was broken again as Krejcikova took a 4-1 lead. Krejcikova served out the set at love after 35 minutes of play.
Saturday's match is the first singles final at the All England Club for each player and started with the stadium roof open and no rain in the forecast.
The seventh-seeded Paolini is playing for the trophy at a second consecutive Grand Slam tournament after losing to Iga Swiatek in the final at Roland Garros last month. She is the first woman to make it that far on the French Open's clay and Wimbledon's grass in the same season since Serena Williams in 2016.
Krejcikova, seeded 31st, seeks her second major singles title after her triumph at the 2021 French Open. She also owns seven Grand Slam titles in women's doubles, including two at Wimbledon.
Kate, the Princess of Wales and the patron of the All England Club, did not attend Saturday's match but is set to be at the men's final on Sunday in a rare public appearance after her cancer diagnosis. In her place, the women's trophy will be handed out by Deborah Jevans, the chair of the All England Club.
There were plenty of celebrities in the crowd, however, including actor Tom Cruise. Fellow actors Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale were among the guests in the Royal Box.
Whoever emerges with the victory on Saturday will be the eighth woman to leave the All England Club as champion in the last eight editions of the tournament. Last year's Wimbledon winner, Marketa Vondrousova, lost in the first round last week.
Carlos Alcaraz will play Novak Djokovic on Sunday in the men's final.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
