Siniakova and Krejcikova win first tennis gold for Czech Republic
Katerina Siniakova and Barbora Krejcikova won a "very special" first gold medal for Czech Republic in tennis at the Olympic Games, ending Belinda Bencic’s dreams of a double triumph for Switzerland with victory in the women’s doubles final.
Siniakova and Krejcikova, the top seeds at Tokyo 2020 and three-time Grand Slam champions, raised their arms and hugged in delight after beating Bencic and Viktorija Golubic 7-5 6-1 on a sweltering afternoon in Tokyo.
Their gold medal triumph saw them go one better than the efforts of Jana Novotna & Helena Sukova and Andrea Hlavackova & Lucie Hradecka, who had previously been the most successful Czech women’s doubles pairings at an Olympics.
Novotna and Sukova won silver at both Seoul 1988 and Atlanta 1996, while Hlavackova and Hradecka also finished runners-up at London 2012, but Krejcikova believes their Tokyo success wouldn't have been possible without the trailblazing efforts of their compatriots.
“The motivation we got from the previous medallists is really big," she said. "I think we got really inspired by them. I think we really need to thank them because without them we just wouldn’t have the motivation and the inspiration.
“It’s really big [to be Olympic champions]. We’re really happy and really grateful that we could be here. We did such a great job during these 10 days and we have this beautiful gold medal. It’s pretty much a dream come true."
A rock-steady pairing in doubles, Siniakova and Krejcikova always looked set to provide a very difficult test for the Swiss in the final, and so it proved.
Even the high of Bencic's gold-medal-singles triumph just 16 hours earlier - and the fact that Sunday marked Swiss National Day - couldn't inspire the Swiss team to reach the level required to break down the Czechs.
But their loss was hardly a defeat. And with silver medal in hand, they certainly didn't treat it like one, beaming and hugging each other on the podium.
Bencic and Golubic have shared a truly special week in Tokyo capped by a gold and silver medal, but the world No. 12 says the experience has been rewarding for so much more than just the prize at the end.
They gave it their all to achieve a double gold for Switzerland, keeping pace with their top-seeded opponents early on, but slipped to 15-40 on Golubic’s serve at five games apiece. Though they saved the first break point, a loose backhand from Golubic sailed long and gave Siniakova the chance to serve out the opening set. She duly did, polishing off the opener in 48 minutes.
The Czechs broke Bencic immediately to start the second set before Krejcikova consolidated their advantage, and then applied further pressure to the Golubic serve to bring up a 3-0 lead.
Overturning such a deficit was always going to be an uphill task against a pair who have consistently excelled at the biggest events this year. Finalists at this year's Australian Open, Krejcikova and Siniakova won their third Grand Slam title at Roland Garros less than two months ago – adding to their back-to-back wins at Paris and Wimbledon in 2018.
Olympic gold is the latest milestone to add to their burgeoning collection, and while there are likely plenty more prizes in store for the pair, who are both just 25, their Tokyo triumph stands out.
"It’s really special this one," admitted Siniakova. "I really enjoyed my whole time here. It was really tough and I’m so glad we kept fighting and in the end we have this one, this gold medal.
"It’s really amazing. I feel so honoured I got to represent my country."