The 2021 women’s French Open final will be contested between Pavlyuchenkova (31) and Krejcikova (33). Absolutely nobody would have predicted these two meeting in the final two weeks ago. Throughout the clay-court tune-ups leading to the French Open, the usual suspects rose to the top. Barty, Swiatek, and Sabalenka became the favorites. Williams and Kvitova had an outside chance. Gauff was also playing well. Surprisingly, they would all fall.

That being said, if you watched closely, it wasn’t all luck for Pavlyuchenkova and Krejcikova. They legitimately took out some big names on their way to the final. Pavlyuchenkova beat three seeds on her way to the final, which included Sabalenka (3) in the third round, Azarenka (15) in the fourth round, and Rybakina (21) in the quarters. Those are some sweet wins, and deserving of a place in a Grand Slam final.

Meanwhile, Krejcikova did a lot of the same, taking out Svitolina (5) in the third round, Gauff (24) in the quarters, and Sakkari (17) in the finals. These are also great wins deserving of a place in the finals.

So, who’s the favorite? This one will be really tough to predict. We have a situation where two total underdogs have reached a Grand Slam final and have done it by beating some of the best in the world. Sometimes you have situations where the draw opens up, and one can reach the final by playing a few average players. This has not been the case for Pavlyuchenkova and Krejcikova. They are both playing amazing tennis.

If there was any sort of edge in this final, it would have to go to Pavlyuchenkova. She’s the more experienced and mature player. She’s also had more appearances in the later rounds of Grand Slams. Meanwhile, Krejcikova’ s focus has been doubles, where she’s won a couple of Grand slams and finished the year number one in 2018. This will be a fun and interesting matchup to see, and I predict three tough sets between these two ladies. However, in the end, Pavlyuchenkova will prevail. She’ll lift her first and probably only Grand Slam of her career.

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