A look to the sky, a wide smile, and a kiss. I did it, Jana. We did it.

Barbora Krejcikova is a grand slam singles champion, barely eight months after she first cracked the world's top 100, and the first instinct is to suggest this will be a one-off.

Ladies and gentlemen, a pandemic champion, an asterisk champion.

Jana Novotna, her former coach and mentor, who died in November 2017, won just one singles slam too, but she was a long-time force in the women's game. Indeed, Krejcikova left no doubt about her influence on Saturday's success.

But for those doubting Krejcikova's credentials, a little pause for thought.

Novotna won 14 of her 16 grand slam doubles titles before landing that elusive singles crown in 1998 at Wimbledon, and Krejcikova landed five doubles majors ahead of her own remarkable singles breakthrough.

Martina Navratilova, who handed Krejcikova the trophy, also won doubles titles at the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open before she ever landed a singles major.

This is, to some extent, a well-worn path by Czech players. So there is more nuance here. And stuff first instincts. Perhaps, like Novotna and Navratilova before her, this Czech player might he here to stay at the highest level.

The 25-year-old from Brno has joined the ranks of those few champions who have won grand slam singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles, and she will be up to 15th in the WTA rankings on Monday.

Krejcikova might be back at number one in the doubles rankings too, as she and partner Katerina Siniakova have a Roland Garros final on Sunday against Iga Swiatek – last year's singles champion – and Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

Win that, and Krejcikova will be on top of the world once more in the discipline where she has honed the tools that brought her glory at Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova's expense in what proved a thoroughly absorbing singles final.

The slices, the drop shots, the lobs and the net approaches, and the double-handed backhand that flits between being weapon and weakness: all those shots were honed in doubles, mostly alongside Siniakova.

Krejcikova spoke at the trophy presentation of her giddy amazement that Justine Henin, the four-time French Open winner, knew who she was when they bumped into each other behind the scenes in Paris.

Navratilova chipped in.

"In 2014, when you found out Jana moved back to Brno, you had the courage to go knock on her door and ask her for help. What gave you that courage?" asked the player who won 59 majors, including 18 singles slams.

Krejcikova's reply? "My mum."

Bravo Mrs Krejcikova.

Krejcikova has spoken often about Novotna but here she opened up to explain how she had spent so much time with the great champion before her death.

Novotna had kept news of her cancer out of the public consciousness, but Krejcikova not only knew, she felt she owed her driving force to stay by her side throughout the illness.

"I was going through a really hard time when Jana was passing away," Krejcikova told the crowd.

"I was most of the time with her and I really wanted to experience this, because I thought this was going to make me really strong.

"And pretty much her last words were just, 'Enjoy and just try to win a grand slam'.

"I know that from somewhere she's looking after me and all of this, this two weeks, is pretty much because she's looking after me from up there.

"I just want to thank her. It was amazing I had a chance to meet her and she was such an inspiration to me. I just really miss her. I hope she's happy right now. I'm extremely happy."

Three mixed doubles titles – one with Nikola Mektic and two with Rajeev Ram – plus two women's doubles with Siniakova, and now a singles triumph.

Except we know Krejcikova does not feel alone on the court. She senses Novotna's guiding hand. This is a doubles partnership dressed up as a singles player.

Novotna, weeks after winning Wimbledon, her destiny ever since she wept on the shoulder of the Duchess of Kent after losing to Steffi Graf in the 1993 final, shed some light on what it meant for her.

"I felt enormous relief and I felt that now it seems like this would be a new beginning for me," Novotna said.

This is a new beginning for Krejcikova too. Never a factor in singles previously, she has properly arrived now. Like you always had to with Novotna, watch out for her at Wimbledon.

Barbora Krejcikova paid another emotional tribute to her late mentor Jana Novotna after winning her maiden grand slam singles title at the French Open on Saturday.

The unseeded Krejcikova beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1 2-6 6-4 in the battle of two first-time major singles finalists on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Krejcikova said her former coach and compatriot Novotna, who died from cancer aged 49 in November 2017, was always in her thoughts as she embarked on a surprise, glorious run at Roland Garros.

The 25-year-old pointed to the sky as she delivered a poignant tribute to Novotna after becoming the first Czech woman to win the title in Paris since Hana Mandlikova in 1981. 

She said of the 1998 Wimbledon champion: "I was going through a really hard time when Jana passed away, I was with her most of the time. Her last words were pretty much 'just enjoy it and try to win a grand slam."

Krejcikova added: "I know from somewhere she is looking after me and all this what happened in the last two weeks is pretty much because she is looking after me from up there.

"It is amazing I had the chance to meet her and she was an inspiration. I hope she is really happy and I am extremely happy."

Ranked 114 when the WTA Tour returned last August following a coronavirus-enforced shutdown, the surprise package is the sixth consecutive maiden major champion to be crowned at the French Open.

Krejcikova, a winner of five grand slam doubles titles with another up for grabs on Sunday, was pinching herself after lifting the Suzanne Lenglen Cup.

"I want to thank all of them - my coach, my physio, my friends and everyone back home. My family, my mum and dad, my brothers, my niece and nephew. It's nice to see everyone," she said.

"It is hard to put into words because I cannot believe what just happened. I cannot believe I actually won a grand slam."

Barbora Krejcikova came out on top in an almighty French Open battle with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to win her maiden grand slams singles title.

The unseeded Krejcikova dominated the opening set but had to fend off a Pavlyuchenkova fightback to win 6-1 2-6 6-4 at Roland Garros on Saturday.

Making only her fifth appearance in a main singles draw at a major compared to her Russian opponent's 52nd, Krejcikova added a first grand slam singles title to her five doubles triumphs.

Krejcikova broke twice in a tense final set in the battle between two first-time major singles finalists on Court Philippe-Chatrier, becoming the first Czech woman to win the title in Paris since Hana Mandlikova in 1981. 

Pavlyuchenkova won the opening point with a measured forehand winner, with Krejcikova looking understandably nervy as she was broken in the first game but she soon warmed to the task.

The 25-year-old took command on a humid afternoon, dictating rally after rally in composed fashion with precise groundstrokes off both wings and deft drop shots.

Krejcikova returned superbly and had a 5-1 lead when a Pavlyuchenkova forehand looped out before coming from 0-30 down to wrap up a one-sided opening set in only 31 minutes.

Pavlyuchenkova, four years older than her opponent, finally held after fending off a break point in the first game of the second set and went 2-0 up with a rasping backhand winner down the line following a sublime drop shot.

A thunderous, deep Pavlyuchenkova return enabled her to move a game away from levelling the match but she had to take a medical timeout when leading 5-2 following a Krejcikova break.

The 31st seed returned to the court with strapping on her left thigh and broke again to take the second set, but a double fault gifted Krejcikova an early break in the decider.

Pavlyuchenkova hit straight back, letting out a roar after a brilliant cross-court forehand to make it 2-2, only for Krejcikova to secure a break to love for a 4-3 lead with a forehand winner.

The battling Pavlyuchenkova did not appear to be moving as freely but saved two match points to stay alive before Krejcikova served out the match, raising her arms aloft after her opponent sent a forehand long.

Barbora Krejcikova insists she belongs at the highest level of women's tennis as the surprise singles finalist attempts to achieve a French Open feat last accomplished 21 years ago.

France's own Mary Pierce was the most recent player to clinch singles and doubles titles in the same year at Roland Garros, beating Conchita Martinez in the 2000 singles final and teaming up with Martina Hingis to make it a twin trophy success.

On Saturday, Krejcikova can complete the first leg of her weekend's objective as she battles to become only the second woman playing under a Czech flag to triumph in singles at the Paris clay-court grand slam in the Open Era, after Hana Mandlikova's 1981 victory.

Martina Navratilova won the French Open title twice, in 1982 and 1984, but by that stage she was representing the United States, having previously been a runner-up for Czechoslovakia in 1975.

A world-class doubles star, Krejcikova has rocketed up the singles rankings in the past 18 months, having ended 2019 at 135th on the WTA list. Now up to a career-high 33rd, victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Court Philippe Chatrier would lift her to 15th.

Speaking on Friday, Krejcikova suggested the pandemic, and the enforced deceleration of the tennis tours, had given her the time to mix up her singles and doubles schedules when previously her diary was overly packed.

The 25-year-old had been playing lower-tier ITF singles events but main-tour WTA doubles, and it had been a difficult juggling act.

"I hope there will be no more ITFs in singles for me," Krejcikova said. "I want to stay on this level. I want to really work hard just to stay here, to be able to play such matches like this. It was really tough playing ITFs because the schedule, the WTA in doubles, the schedule was tough. It was tight.

"Sometimes we played well, then I missed the tournament, then I wasn't ready to play. It was difficult. But I really think that the pandemic really helped me.

"Right now I just want to keep the level. I don't want to go backwards."

Should she and Katerina Siniakova win the doubles on Sunday, when last year's singles champion Iga Swiatek and American Bethanie Mattek-Sands should provide tough opposition, it would mean Krejcikova goes back to number one in those rankings.

Krejcikova has a 14-3 singles record on clay this season, with only two WTA players winning more matches on the surface (Paula Badosa 17-3, Coco Gauff 16-4)

She will hope to become just the third unseeded women's singles champion in French Open history, after Swiatek (2020) and Jelena Ostapenko (2017).

After teaming up with Siniakova to scuttle Magda Linette and Bernarda Perra 6-1 6-2 in their doubles semi-final on Friday, Krejcikova said: "I hope we saved some power for the finals.

"I'm looking forward that I'm going to play two more times on Chatrier. It's always perfect to play this court because it's a beautiful court. I think it's going to be a lot of fun playing these two finals."

Pavlyuchenkova is three weeks away from turning 30 and would become the third-oldest first-time grand slam winner on the women's tour, after Flavia Pennetta (33 years 200 days, 2015 US Open) and Ann Jones (30 years 261 days, 1969 Wimbledon).

She would also become the oldest Russian woman to win a singles major, taking that statistic away from Maria Sharapova who was 27 when she scooped her fifth and final slam in 2014 at Roland Garros.

Sitting 32nd in the rankings, she would jump to 14th by taking the title but is guaranteed to jump back into the top 20, for the first time since January 2018.

Pavlyuchenkova banished her grand slam quarter-final jinx this week, having lost all six of her previous last-eight singles matches at that stage in grand slams, including a 2011 loss to Francesca Schiavone at Roland Garros. She will hope her first trek beyond the quarters is not her last.

"It's been a long road. It's been a lot of ups and downs. It's been a tough one," said Pavlyuchenkova, who is playing in her 52nd grand slam.

"I definitely didn't expect this year being in the final. I guess you can't expect those things. I was just there working hard, doing everything possible. I just said to myself, 'You know what, this year let's do whatever it takes, anything you can do to improve your game, your mentality'.

"I started working with a sports psychologist, everything. I wanted to give it a try so I have no regrets after. That's it."

One thing is for sure: a new grand slam champion is about to be crowned, and Paris is used to that. The past five Roland Garros champions have all been new to the slam-winning experience, with Garbine Muguruza's maiden major in 2016 followed by breakthroughs for Ostapenko, Simona Halep, Ash Barty and Swiatek.