Marketa Vondrousova has stormed into her first-ever Wimbledon final after cruising her way past a lacklustre Elina Svitolina in straight sets.
The Czech required just over an hour to seal a place in Saturday’s final after charging to an emphatic 6-3, 6-3, victory. In doing so she has become the lowest-ranked woman to reach a Wimbledon final since the ranking system was introduced and the first unseeded player to do so since 1963. She is only the fourth woman from her country to reach the title match at The All England Club after Jana Novotna, Petra Kvitova and Karolina Pliskova.
Vondrousova faced little difficulty throughout the encounter as her opponent struggled to generate any rhythm in her tennis. Svitolina produced a costly 24 unforced errors which was fatal to her dream of becoming the first Ukrainian Grand Slam finalist in the Open Era. It was a somewhat anticlimactic match compared to a series of thrilling encounters that had occurred earlier in the draw.
“I can’t believe it,” said Vondrousova. “I’m just very happy that I made the final. She is such a fighter and she is such a great person.”
Friday’s showdown on Center Court was one for the history books with it being the first time two unseeded players have faced off against each other in a women’s semi-final. Vondrousova, who was the only person out of the two to have previously contested a major final, got off to the perfect start by breaking five games into the match. The Czech’s tactic was to continuously hit the ball side-to-side and draw unforced errors from across the court. Eventually, she broke to love by hitting a blistering forehand down the line.
Svitolina did manage to retrieve that break but her serve was too problematic with the former world No.3 at one stage losing seven straight points behind it. Resulting in her opponent easing her way to a 5-3 lead. Even the cheers of the crowd with one member shouting ‘We love you Elena’ failed to change the match momentum as Vondoursova sealed a 6-3 lead after just 34 minutes of play.
Heading into the second frame it looked as if the match would be over in no time. Vondrousova stormed to a 4-0 lead and was in a position to serve for 5-0. However, a sudden twist of events occurred with a looser-hitting Svitolina breaking back twice in a row to revive her chances. Prompting a huge roar from the crowd. However, the comeback was short-lived as Svitolina’s errors made an unwelcome return and Vondrousova broke once more en route to victory.
“I was crazy nervous and nervous during the whole match. I was leading 4-0 in the second set and then she broke me. I had to just stay focused and play my game,” she said.
“I didn’t play for 6 months last year (due to injury) and you never know if you’re going to be playing at that level again. I am so grateful to be back here and play at this level again.”
Vondrousova will play either Ons Jabeur or Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
