Wimbledon 2023
- The world number 42 wins 6-4, 6-4 on Center Court
- Tunisian loses second consecutive final at SW19
Sat 15 Jul 2023 3.28pm BST
In the four years since Marketa Vondrousova first reached a Grand Slam final at the French Open, women’s tennis has changed significantly. As many of the top players of previous generations have retired, new competitors have emerged and others have already fallen. In the ever-changing landscape of the Tour, it was still unclear if this talented, one-of-a-kind left-hander from the Czech Republic would fulfill her early promises made in Paris as a 19-year-old.
Her long-awaited breakthrough came in surprising circumstances, on a surface where she had a poor record of 2:10 at the start of the grass season last month. Regardless, on Saturday afternoon the unseeded Czech ended a magical two weeks by beating sixth-seeded Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-4 to become Grand Slam champions at Wimbledon for the first time.
Marketa Vondrousova: “Wimbledon was the most impossible Grand Slam to win”
The win made the world number 42 Wimbledon’s first unseeded women’s champion of the Open era, having defeated five seeded opponents en route to the title. Vondrousova is also the youngest in an endless line of Czech players to establish themselves at the top of the sport and the third Czech Wimbledon champion after Jana Novotna and Petra Kvitova.
But the spectacle was as much about Jabeur collapsing under the weight of the occasion as it was about Vondrousova’s cunning and nerves of steel. Jabeur had played the best tennis of her life to return to the final and claim incredible victories over title favorites Kvitova, Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka.
But when she reached the final as a clear favorite and became the first African or Arab player to win a Grand Slam title, playing so much better than herself, Jabeur was unable to find her best tennis under pressure.
Matchups are the be-all and end-all of tennis and when her game is in full swing playing Vondrousova can be a pain. Her defence, left-handed angles, variety and ability to keep the ball that low on the slipping grass presented a completely different challenge than the three consecutive tremendous ball forwards Jabeur faced in front of her. Not only did she constantly force the Tunisian to pick up so many more balls to score points, she also constantly put her in difficult positions.
“Marketa just put the ball in and made a lot of cuts,” said Jabeur. “I think it was a completely different game to the last three I’ve had. So maybe I found it very difficult to adjust to their rhythm. Add to that the pressure and stress of the final.”
Marketa Vondrousova’s left angles cause problems for her opponents. Photo: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
In her third Grand Slam final in the last five major tournaments, Jabeur seemed to calm down quickly when she broke serve in the opening game. But Vondrousova was right behind her. While the Czech struggled to pull back and constantly made life difficult for her opponent, Jabeur’s mistakes began to flow. Her feet were frozen and unable to make the necessary adjustments. From 4:2 onwards, the 28-year-old conceded four games in a row and humbly handed over the first set.
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Despite taking a toilet break between sets, Jabeur just couldn’t shake her tightness and mistakes, so the Tunisian immediately gave up her serve and was 1-0 behind. But she shot an angled backhand pass shot past Vondrousova and then fought her way back to the tackle. After finding her feet again, Jabeur won three games and forced a 3-1 lead with crisp, attacking tennis.
But she couldn’t keep up the intensity and the close errors kept piling up, many of them provoked by Vondrousova’s defense before completely overwhelming her. When the score was 3-1, Jabeur failed again. She has conceded five of the last six games as the bright, consistent 24-year-old finished off the game with a brilliant volley winner to win her first major title.
Vondroušová, the disruptor, creates another shock and wins Wimbledon
When Vondrousova began her unlikely title fight two weeks ago, her husband Stepan stayed home to take care of their cat, Frankie. He had stayed there until she secured her spot in the finals. Ignoring superstitions, the couple found a cat sitter who flew to London to join their litter box. “Tomorrow is the first anniversary of our wedding, so this is the gift,” she said.
Since her appearance in the 2019 Roland Garros final, Vondrousova’s stop-start career has taken her in many different directions. She is a silver medalist at the 2020 Olympics after beating Naomi Osaka in Tokyo, but her attempts to become a constant contender have been marred by numerous injuries, including two wrist surgeries in her young career.
The first surgery came in 2019, just after that first big run, and robbed her of the chance to consolidate the disease. Her last operation last April resulted in her wearing a cast while her other rivals competed at Wimbledon. The Czech returned in late 2022 after six months of getting numerous new tattoos. Her victory means she will add another.
“I bet my coach that if I win a Grand Slam, he’ll get one too. I think we’ll go tomorrow,” Vondrousova said.
Her joy contrasted with the pain of Jabeur. After reaching her third Grand Slam final, she had by far her best chance against a less experienced player. When the moment came, she didn’t have the courage to finish it. As Jabeur accepted her runner-up trophy and held it in the air, she burst into tears. “I think this is the most painful loss of my career,” she said.
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