Cream of the crop

Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic is the new women's singles champion at Wimbledon. She defeated Jasmine Paolini of Italy in three sets yesterday. There were royals and celebrities galore in the stands to watch, and the rest of the world could follow along on their screens, before they were taken over by the latest horrible chapter in the fall of America.

But I digress. Krejcikova came out playing perfect tennis, controlling the action and winning the first set easily. But the worm turned in the second, as the Czech made a bunch of errors and let the peppy Italian back into the match. The deciding set was close, and the last game took forever to close out, but Krejcikova played just a little bit better toward the end, and on grass courts that's all it takes sometimes.

Neither player was expected to be there. Krejcikova was seeded 31 (and they only seed 32), and Paolini 7. And astoundingly, Paolini had never won a match on grass before this tournament. She wound up winning six matches, which is one short of the title. The Czech standout scored her second major championship, having won the French Open three years ago.

Both women seemed genuinely humble and likeable as they celebrated their achievements. The grand prize was ￡2.7 million, or roughly $3.4 million; second place earned ￡1.4 million, or about $1.75 million. Paolini also took second place in this year's French Open, a.k.a. Roland Garros, which racked up another €1.2 million, or roughly $1.3 million. That's a pretty good season, and it's only mid-July.

Elite women's tennis is wide open. This is the eighth different ladies' singles winner in the past eight Wimbledons.

Today the men go at it: Novak Djokovic of Serbia, who has won the premier British title seven times, and Carlos Alcaraz from Spain, who beat the Djoker for it last year. Thrills, chills, and spills await us.