Unseeded Vondrousova Stuns Jabeur To Capture Wimbledon Title
- World No 42 wins 6-4, 6-4 on Centre Court
- Tunisian loses second final in a row
Marketa Vondrousova of Czech Republic has become the first unseeded player to win the Wimbledon women’s singles crown as her Tunisian counterpart, Ons Jabeur’s wait for a major Grand Slam title goes on.
Ranked 42nd in the world after missing six months of last season with a wrist injury, Vondrousova, 24, handled the nerves of the occasion better than the 2022 runner-up, Jabeur to win Saturday’s final 6-4 6-4.
With her victory, Vondrousova is Wimbledon’s first unseeded women’s champion in the Open era having defeated five seeded opponents en route to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish.
Also, she is the latest in the unending series of Czech female players to establish themselves at the top of the sport and the third Czech Wimbledon champion after Jana Novotna and Petra Kvitova.
Given the tour’s ever-changing landscape, this talented, unique lefty is indeed fulfilling the early promise she showed as a 19-year-old in Paris. Her long-awaited breakthrough has come under surprising circumstances, on a surface that she had a dire 2-10 record on at the beginning of the grass-court season last month.
On Saturday afternoon, Vondrousova, who came to Wimbledon as a fan last year wearing a cast after wrist surgery, fell flat on her back as the magnitude of what she had achieved sunk in.
Reflecting on completing a magical fortnight to become a grand slam champion for the first time, the unseeded Czech said; “I don’t know what is happening – it is an amazing feeling”.
After sharing a warm embrace with Jabeur at the net, she knelt on the grass again and looked close to tears as she drew the acclaim of the Centre Crowd crowd.
Then, as is tradition these days, she clambered up to the players’ box to hug her team and family, including husband Stepan, who arrived in London to watch the final after staying at home in Prague to look after their pet cat.
No doubt, the spectacle was much about Jabeur crumbling under the weight of the occasion as well as Vondrousova’s cunning approach and nerve.
The sixth seed Jabeur, 28, who has now lost all three major finals she has played in, was in tears at the end. She had played the best tennis of her life to return to the final, snatching incredible wins over title favourites Kvitova, Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka.
However, in the final as the heavy favourite to become the first African woman or Arab player to win a grand slam title, and playing for so much more than herself, Jabeur could not manage to find her best tennis under pressure.
Jabeur, who looked heartbroken as she sat on her chair with her head bowed, said; “This is very, very tough.” The burning tears of defeat came down more after she collected the runner-up trophy and lifted it into the air.
Amid cheers from her supporters, she broke down in tears, saying; “I think this is the most painful loss of my career.” – With The Guardian report
