Marketa Vondrousova has hailed her shock Wimbledon win as an “impossible” triumph after she became the first unseeded player ever to win the women’s title and left the shattered Ons Jabeur in tears..
The left-hander from the Czech Republic, ranked only 42nd in the world, outplayed sixth seed Jabeur, of Tunisia, 6-4 6-4 in Saturday’s surprisingly one-sided final under the Centre Court roof.
Vondrousova lifted her first grand slam title just a year since she visited Wimbledon as a tourist with her racquet wrist in plaster after a second bout of surgery which she feared might threaten her career.
“When I was coming back, I didn’t know what’s going to happen, if I can play at that level again,” said the 24-year-old.
“On grass, I didn’t play well before the injury. I think it was the most impossible grand slam for me to win, so I didn’t even think of it. When we came, I was just like, ‘Try to win a couple of matches.’ Now this happened. It’s crazy!”
She’s the lowest-ranked women’s winner in history and her victory was watched from the Royal Box by Billie Jean King, the last unseeded women’s singles finalist 60 years earlier.
Few had expected the Czech to tame trailblazing Jabeur, still on her mission to become the first north African and Arab woman grand slam winner in history, but there was nothing but misery for the under-performing favourite.
After her third grand slam final defeat, including last year’s final, the ever-popular Jabeur ended up breaking down in tears in the post-match on-court interview, saying: “This is the most painful loss of my career.”
But for the 24-year-old Vondrousova, who’d lost the 2019 French Open final to Ash Barty as a teenager before her wrist troubles began, there was joy in following the illustrious path of previous Czech winners like another Royal Box spectator, Martina Navratilova.
She had trailed in each set but took the last four games of the first, then the final three games of the second as Jabeur appeared for long periods hugely dispirited by her inability to get to grips with the Czech’s tricky game which gave her no rhythm.
In the previous rounds, Jabeur had had to feel the firepower of last year’s champion Elena Rybakina and Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka, and she tamed both of them.
But Vondrousova, who has a variety of power strokeplay, drop shots and looping forehands, mixed up her slower pace beautifully as she controlled most of the rallies in the 80-minute contest.
Jabeur seemed particularly nervy as she could only serve up a mistake-ridden display, with 31 unforced errors to Vondrousova’s 13 as the Czech claimed 16 of the last 18 points in the first set when the Tunisian really lost her way.
It looked as if she had regrouped when she recovered from another tame early break to lead 3-1 as the hugely pro-Jabeur crowd got behind her, but it proved illusory as Vondrousova roared to the line, an acrobatic volley sealing her triumph before she collected the trophy from Kate, Princess of Wales.
“I think I’m going to have some beer, it’s been an exhausting two weeks,” said Vondrousova, whose magical weekend will continue with her first wedding anniversary on Sunday with husband Stepan, who’d flown in from Prague.
Vondrousova, whose racquet-arm is heavily illustrated, also said she’d celebrate with a beer and a visit to another tattoo studio on Sunday, after her coach Jan Hernych had agreed to her challenge – evidently with some reluctance – to get one himself if she won.
© AAP 2023
