Marketa Vondrousova, the lowest-ranked and first-unseeded woman, won Wimbledon on Saturday by defeating 2022 runner-up Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-4. Vondrousova, a left-hander from the Czech Republic who is now rated 42, is 24 years old. Billie Jean King, who came in second in the All England Club final in 1963 and was the first unseeded female competitor in 60 years, was placed Saturday in the Royal Box next to Kate, Princess of Wales. Vondrousova's smooth left-handed strokes may have been more effective since the retractable roof over the main stadium was shut, shielding everyone from the air outside. She didn't capture any of the passion that Jabeur did in her images.
Vondrousova fell down in both sets but came back to win the last four games of the first and the last three games of the second. This is her maiden Grand Slam triumph. When she lost in the 2019 French Open final, she was a teenager. Jabeur is now 0-3 in major finals. The Tunisian, who is 28 years old, is the only Arab and the only female from North Africa to get so far in a singles match at a Grand Slam tournament. But she lost to Elena Rybakina and No. 1 Iga Swiatek at the All England Club and the U.S. Open, respectively. Vondrousova's rise to the top of the podium was tough to fathom two weeks ago. She had a 1-4 record at Wimbledon until going 7-0 this past week, only making it once into the second round on the grass courts. Last year, Vondrousova was unable to compete at Wimbledon and instead attended to show her support for a buddy while wearing a cast on her surgically repaired left wrist.
Vondrousova missed all of April through October of 2022 as a result of the injury, finishing the year in 99th place. Early service breaks were traded after 23 minutes, and the outcome was 2-all. The score was tied at four after 34 minutes as they continued to trade breaks, each one at love. Jabeur's mistakes remained, nevertheless. After committing a total of 27 unforced errors, Vondrousova grabbed control of the match by winning 16 of the final 18 points in the first set. During the break between sets, Jabeur walked to the locker room. When she returned, she made another error right away, to the great applause of the audience. Another mistake gave Vondrousova a breakpoint, which Jabeur increased by taking another shot at the goal. Vondrousova led by two sets after 45 minutes of play.
At that time Jabeur began to turn around. She won three straight games to increase her lead to 3-1, maybe modelling her comebacks against Rybakina, No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, and 2019 U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu from when she had lost the first set. The amount of support that Jabeur received from the crowd rose as she improved as a player. She was nicknamed the Minister of Happiness for her positive outlook both on and off the court. It wasn't long. Vondrousova overcame that obstacle and continued to the finish line while her hubby watched the tournament for the first time. When she won the match with a flying volley, she collapsed to the ground in the happiest condition she had ever known on the court.
© Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved Powered by Vygr Media.
