Wimbledon
From tourist to title holder: Vondrousova wins
Surprisingly crowned as the queen of Wimbledon: Marketa Vondrousova. photo
© Adam Davy/PA Wire/dpa
What a comeback! A year ago, Marketa Vondrousova wore plaster, now she wins her first Grand Slam title in Wimbledon. The Czech writes history with it.
When the champions in Wimbledon were determined, Marketa Vondrousova sat as a spectator in the stands.
With her left arm wrapped in a cast, the 24-year-old Czech watched a few games played by her friend Miriam Kolodziejova. Otherwise she was mainly to be found in the shopping malls of London. “We were normal tourists, visited the London Eye and otherwise did a lot of shopping. I think five times,” said Vondrousova.
A year later there was no time for that. Because Vondrousova played seven matches in the classic lawn – and surprisingly crowned herself as the queen of Wimbledon. “It’s just indescribable,” said Vondrousova. “A year ago I had a cast around my arm, now I’ve won Wimbledon,” she said after the 6: 4, 6: 4 against Tunisian Ons Jabeur, who lost her second Wimbledon final in a row and was then devastated .
Win as an unseeded player
Vondrousova, on the other hand, proudly and incredulously carried the trophy, the Venus Rosewater Dish, across the lawn at the same time. According to the organizers, she was the first unseeded player in the history of the tournament to win what is probably the most popular tennis event in the world, adding another chapter to the successful Czech history of Wimbledon.
“Vondrousova joins the ranks of legends,” wrote “Sport.cz”. “A fantasy come true!” headlined “MF Dnes”. Before Vondrousova, the Czechs Jana Novotna (1998) and Petra Kvitova (2011) had won at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. However, none of these victories were as surprising as Vondrousova’s triumph.
Vondrousova: “Have a few beers first”
After all, she wasn’t exactly known as a lawn specialist before. “It was the most unlikely Grand Slam tournament for me to win. And now it just happened,” said the left-hander, who had already reached the final at the French Open in 2019. In 2021 she won silver at the Tokyo Olympics. And yet she joins the ranks of Grand Slam winners that nobody expected. Such as Jelena Ostapenko (French Open winner 2017), Emma Raducanu (US Open winner 2021) or Vondrousova’s compatriot Barbora Krejcikova (French Open winner 2021).
Not much was heard from many after that, and Vondrousova could also be such a one-hit wonder. But that didn’t matter to her at the moment of her greatest success. “I’ll have a few beers first,” said Vondrousova. Her husband Stepan Simek, who had previously had to look after their cat Frankie, flew in especially for the finale. The two celebrate their first wedding anniversary this Sunday. The couple could hardly have chosen a nicer place for this.