After her surprise coup at Wimbledon, Marketa Vondrousova knelt on the holy lawn and could hardly believe her luck.
The defeated Ons Jabeur, on the other hand, cried bitterly and was not comforted by the encouraging applause of the spectators. “It’s the most painful defeat of my career,” said the Tunisian, deeply disappointed.
Second lost final
Last year she lost in the final against Jelena Rybakina from Kazakhstan. Jabeur’s dream of becoming the first African player to win the singles title in a Grand Slam tournament remained unfulfilled on Saturday.
Vondrousova, on the other hand, was the first unseeded player to win the tennis classic since the introduction of professional tennis. The 24-year-old Czech won the final in London 6: 4, 6: 4 and thus celebrated the first Grand Slam title of her career. The last time the legendary Billie Jean King had reached the final in Wimbledon in 1963 as an unseeded player, but lost at the time. Vondrousova converted her second match point after 1:20 hours.
First poor cast, now Wimbledon win
“I don’t even know what’s happening right now,” Vondrousova said. “A year ago I had a cast on my arm, now I’ve won Wimbledon.” Vondrousova missed the 2022 tournament with a wrist injury and only traveled to London as a tourist. “It’s incredible,” she said.
In the hunt for their first Grand Slam title, both players could clearly see that they were very nervous. Jabeur managed a quick break in front of Duchess Kate. A year after their final defeat against Rybakina, Jabeur never seemed free. Vondrousova managed a quick re-break and was calmer and more balanced overall.
Jabeur under pressure
Jabeur, on the other hand, seemed completely tense. The 28-year-old had worked hard to take part in the final again. Bianca Andreescu, Petra Kvitova, defending champion Rybakina and in the semifinals also the world number two Aryna Sabalenka – Jabeur was right in the final. But the reward for the hard work did not appear.
There was nothing left of the refreshing performances in the previous rounds. Jabeur took a 4-2 lead under the roof of the Center Court, which was closed due to a thunderstorm warning and strong winds. But then Vondrousova played four games in a row and won the first set after 40 minutes. Jabeur had 15 avoidable errors at that point – far too many to triumph at Wimbledon.
Game for a whole continent
The pressure of playing not just for himself but for all of Africa and the Arab world seemed to paralyze Jabeur. In the run-up to the game, she had repeatedly said how much it would mean to her to be the first African player to win a Grand Slam title in singles. Now that longing seemed to become too great a burden.
Because the error festival continued in the second round as well. Vondrousova, on the other hand, began to feel more and more comfortable. Jabeur took the lead again with a break and hoped for a turnaround. But then she broke again under the pressure and couldn’t find a way anymore. At the award ceremony, she cried bitter tears. But she doesn’t want to give up. “We’ll make it one day, I promise you that,” she said to her team in the stands.
