Marketa Vondrousova stuns Jabeur to claim maiden major
Marketa Vondrousova has beaten Ons Jabeur to become the first unseeded player in history to win the Wimbledon Ladies Singles title.
Vondrousova beat the Tunisian fan favourite, 6-4 6-4, to win her first Grand Slam title after reaching the Roland Garros final back in 2019.
Jabeur came into the contest as the favourite, having lost at the same stage last year, but seemed out of sorts and hit a total of 31 unforced errors compared to Vondrousova’s 13.
It is a third Grand Slam final defeat for Jabeur, who was very emotional in her post-match speech, “It will be tough to speak because this is very tough. I think this is the most painful loss of my career. It’s going to be a tough day today but I am not going to give up. We’re going to make it one day, I promise you.”
Having undergone wrist surgery, Vondrousova was forced to miss The Championships last year and reflected on the ‘crazy’ journey to lifting the Venus Rosewater Dish.
The Czech began her speech sending praise to her opponent, “Ons congratulations, you are such an inspiration to all of us. I hope you will win one day, you are an amazing person.”
She continued, “After everything I have been through, I had a cast last time, it’s amazing I can stand here and hold this. Tennis is crazy. I don’t know how I’ve done it.
“The comebacks are not easy you never know what to expect. I was hoping I could comeback to this level and now I am here.”
What a difference a year makes ??#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/283k5RBhMJ
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 15, 2023
Vondrousova will now jump 32 spots in the WTA rankings, and on Monday will be inside the top 10 for the first time in her career.
Marketa Vondrousova and her run to the Wimbledon title
Vondrousova winning the title at SW19 seemed very unlikely given that the 24-year-old had only won one match at Wimbledon prior to this year.
It also seemed unlikely when she was 4-1 down in the deciding set of her quarter-final match against Jessica Pegula.
Here is how Vondrousova managed to win the Wimbledon title:
First Round – Beat Peyton Stearns, 6-2 7-5
Second Round – Beat Veronika Kudermetova (12), 6-3 6-3
Third Round – Beat Donna Vekic (20), 6-1 7-5
Fourth Round – Beat Marie Bouzkova (32), 2-6 6-4 6-3
Quarter-final – Beat Jessica Pegula (4), 6-4 2-6 6-4
Semi-final – Beat Elina Svitolina (WC), 6-3 6-3
Final – Beat Ons Jabeur (6), 6-4 6-4
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