Unseeded Marketa Vondrousova Shocks Ons Jabeur, Claims Sensational Wimbledon Championship 2023
Her long-awaited breakthrough has unexpectedly occurred on a surface on which, at the start of the grass-court season last month, she had a dismal 2-10 record. Whatever the case, on Saturday afternoon, the unseeded Czech finished off a remarkable fortnight by overcoming Ons Jabeur, the sixth seed, 6-4, 6-4, and winning the Wimbledon Grand Slam for the first time.
The world No. 42, who overcame five opponents who were seeds, became Wimbledon's first unseeded women's champion in the Open era with her victory. In addition, Vondrousova is the third Czech woman to win the Wimbledon title after Jana Novotna and Petra Kvitova, continuing the seemingly endless line of Czech female athletes to achieve success at the pinnacle of their respective sports.
But the show was just as much about Jabeur losing his composure in the face of the pressure as it was about Vondrousova's shrewd strategy and nerve. To make it back to the final, Jabeur had to play her greatest tennis ever, coming from behind to defeat title favourites Petra Kvitova, Elena Rybakina, and Aryna Sabalenka.
Jabeur struggled to perform at her best while under pressure as she entered the final as the heavy favourite to become the first African woman or Arab player to win a grand slam trophy. She was playing for so much more than just herself.
Tennis matches are crucial, and Vondrousova can be painful to play against when her game is on point. Compared to the three successive big ball strikers Jabeur had faced previously, her defense, left-handed angles, variety, and ability to keep the ball so low on the slippery grass posed a completely different task. She consistently placed the Tunisian in awkward situations in addition to forcing them to take on so many more balls to score points. "Marketa just put the ball in, slices a lot," remarked Jabeur. "I think it was entirely different from the last three matches I had. So maybe it was hard for me to get used to her rhythm. Added to it is the stress and strain of the exam.Jabeur appeared to relax quickly in her third grand slam final in the previous five major championships as she broke serve in the first game. Vondrousova, however, was right in her rear. Jabeur's mistakes started to pile up as the Czech fumbled, retrieved, and continuously made life difficult for her opponent. She was unable to make the necessary changes since her feet were stuck in place. The 28-year-old surrendered four games in a row after going ahead 4-2 to humbly forfeit the first set.
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