A Look Back At Jana Novotna’s Wimbledon Title In 1998

Barbora Krejcikova’s singles victory at Wimbledon in 2024 was especially emotional in that she accomplished the same feat as her late mentor and coach Jana Novotna.

Novotna, who passed away from ovarian cancer at the age of 49 in 2017, won her lone major singles title at Wimbledon in 1998 after famously collapsing in the final in 1993 against Steff Graf and also losing the final in 1997 to Martina Hingis.

The third time was the charm for Novotna as Bud Collins documented in his famous tome “The Bud Collins History of Tennis” (for sale and download here https://a.co/d/7icDUt0) as excerpted below from the 1998 chapter.

Novotna cast aside all her demons in winning Wimbledon on her 13th attempt. She had wasted a 4-1, two service break lead in the final set against Steffi Graf in the final five years earlier, and had faded after a blazing beginning against Hingis the previous year. Now, in her third final, with everyone wondering how well her nerves would hold up, Novotna stood up ably to the challenge. She was fortunate to be facing Nathalie Tauziat, the No. 16 seed from France and the first woman from her nation to reach the final on Centre Court since Suzanne Lenglen in 1925. Tauziat, 30, had never been beyond the quarterfinals of a major event before.

The No. 3 seed Novotna was the decidedly better grass-court player, winning 6-4, 7-6 (7-2). Novotna trailed 2-0, 40-15 in the first set before taking matters into her own hands. She served for the match at 5-4 in the second set but her normally impeccable forehand volley let her down in that game. Nevertheless, Novotna quickly regained the ascendancy in the tiebreak, and confidently closed it out. “This is a definite dream come true for me,” said a jubilant Novotna. “It’s really important to always believe in yourself and to have a dream. This is what I have been waiting and working for.”

Novotna’s best match by far was her 6-4, 6-4 semifinal victory over the top seeded and defending champion Hingis. Martina held a 6-2 career head-to-head edge over Novotna, sweeping the previous four battles they had fought. But the key to the verdict this time was the opening set. Hingis led 3-0, 0-40 but dropped six of the next seven games. The momentum had unmistakably swung, and the top seed could not recover. Meanwhile, in the most stunning development of the tournament, seven-time champion Graf bowed 6-4, 7-5 in the third round against Natalia Zvereva, who then beat Seles on her way to the semifinals before losing to Tauziat. Graf had not suffered a loss against Zvereva in 17 previous meetings, including Graf’s famous 6-0, 6-0 decision in the final of the 1988 French Open.