Reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova confirmed she has been dealing with pain in her hand after reaching the quarter-finals of the French Open.
The Czech fifth seed moved into the last eight with a 6-4, 6-2, win over Olga Danilović who is currently ranked 119 places lower than her at 125th in the world. Vondrousova found herself 0-3 down at the start of the match before fighting back by breaking her rival four times. It is only the second time in her career that she has reached the last eight at Roland Garros after 2019 when she reached the final.
Vondrousova’s latest victory comes amid recent problems with her hand which she attributes to playing with heavier balls in damp conditions. There has been significant disruption to matches during the first week of the tournament due to rain. Men’s No.1 Novak Djokovic didn’t finish his match until gone 3am this morning.
“My hand has been hurting for a few days now, so I didn’t know how I would be,” she told Czech media.
“I told myself that I must not think about the pain, but I was relieved that the match was over because in the morning the pain was really quite bad. You are always fighting, the matches are very mentally demanding, even if the score looks simpler.”
Due to a series of upsets in her section of the draw, Vondrousova is yet to play a player ranked in the top 90 in Paris. In her four matches played so far, she has dropped only one set which was in the second round against world No.108 Katie Volynets.
“Sure, people will say that I had a good draw but even if I didn’t play the top girls, Danilović, for example, beat two really good opponents before (Danielle Collins and Donna Vekic),” Vondrousova points out.
“The ranking doesn’t really matter. The important thing is that I’m getting better. Now every match will be a reward.”
The 24-year-old faces a stern task in the next round where she will play top seed and reigning champion Iga Swiatek. Swiatek moved into the last eight with a comprehensive 6-0, 6-0, win over Anastasia Potapova. It will be the fourth Tour-level meeting between the two with Swiatek winning all of their previous matches in straight sets.
Vondrousova will be the underdog in her quarter-final clash but that isn’t deterring her in any way.
“She’s (Swiatek) feeling great here. So I expect a tough match.” She commented.
“I have nothing to lose. So I’m just going to go and try to enjoy the match and just try to maybe play a good match.”
Since 2000, Vondrousova is only the third Czech woman to reach the quarter-finals of the French Open on multiple occasions after Nicole Vaidisova and Petra Kvitova.
