World No.42 Marketa Vondrousova has won her first major title at Wimbledon after defeating an error-stricken Ons Jabeur in the final on Saturday.
The underdog was undeterred by the enormity of the occasion as she battled her way to a 6-4, 6-4, victory to claim the biggest title of her career and her third win over Jabeur this year.
Vondrousova has become the first unseeded player to win the women’s title in the Open Era and is the lowest-ranked player to have ever done so since the ranking system was introduced. She is also the third Czech woman to have triumphed at the All England Club after Jana Novotna and Petra Kvitova.
“I don’t know what’s happening now, it’s an amazing feeling,” the new champion said during her on-court interview.
“Ons congratulations, you are such an inspiration for all of us and I hope you’re going to win one day. You’re an amazing person and congratulations, you guys are doing an amazing job,” She added.
With both women playing for the biggest title of their careers, the final began with a cat-and-mouse chase. Jabeur was the first to draw blood with the use of some deep slicing to draw errors from her opponent and break in the second game. However, Vondrousova responded instantly as she held her nerve to draw level. Much to the annoyance of the highly-animated Tunisian who repeatedly hit her thigh out of sheer anger after losing a point.
Ironically the decisive factor in the opener wasn’t about who would break but who would be able to hold serve. Capitalizing on a series of Jabeur unforced errors (she produced 15 over 40 minutes), the Czech surged to a 5-4, 40-0, lead before sealing the set with a 106 mph serve out wide that her opponent returned into the net.
The match seemed to be heading in a one-way direction after another lacklustre Jabeur game occurred at the start of the second set before she finally managed to regain the rhythm in her shotmaking. Much to the delight of the Wimbledon crowd who was cheering her on all the way.
However, it was only a short-lived comeback with Vondrousova battling back yet again to draw level. She then issued her final blow to Jabeur at 4-4 after the world No.6 hit two forehand unforced errors to drop serve yet again. Serving for the biggest win of her career, Vondrousova triumphed on her second championship point.
“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,” said Vondrousova.
“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.”
It has been a fairytale journey for the 24-year-old who had only ever recorded two Tour-level wins on the grass coming into this season. Jabeur is the fifth seeded player she has beaten at Wimbledon this year. Earlier in the tournament she knocked out Jessica Pegula, Marie Bouzkova, Donna Vekic and Veronika Kudermetova.
The Czech’s triumph is made even sweeter considering the injury setbacks that have hampered her career. After she won her maiden WTA match in 2016 she was sidelined for six months with a left elbow injury. Three years later she reached the main stage of the sport by finishing runner-up to Ash Barty at the French Open. However, a month after that she missed more of the Tour due to wrist surgery. Then last year she had a second wrist surgery to treat a separate issue which resulted in another six-month absence.
Meanwhile, it is the third time Jabeur has lost a major final after Wimbledon and the US Open last year. She was bidding to become the first African woman in history to win a Grand Slam event and was in tears following her latest defeat.
“I think this is the most painful loss of my career,” said Jabeur.
“I want to say congrats to Marketa and her team for winning this amazing trophy. You are an amazing player and I know you have had a lot of injuries so I am very happy for you.’
“It’s going to be a tough day for me but I am not going to give up and I am going to come back stronger. It was an amazing tournament but I only wished I could make it till the end.”
Vondrousova will make her top 10 debut on Monday as a result of her Wimbledon triumph.