Czech Marketa Vondrousova, a former junior world number one and Roland Garros finalist at the age of 19, was crowned Grand Slam champion on the most unlikely surface for her, the grass of Wimbledon, where her left-footed game worked wonders.
Around this time in 2022, with her left wrist in a cast after a second operation in three years, she traveled to London with her sister to support Miriam Kolodziejova, her doubles partner and best friend, who was playing Wimbledon qualifying.
They stayed a week to see the city. “We went up to the London Eye (the panoramic wheel located in front of Big Ben). We went shopping and we also ate in good restaurants,” Vondrousova explained.
Although she herself has participated in the Grand Slam on grass four times, she only passed the first round once, so this year she arrived showing moderate ambition.
But this 2020 Olympic silver medalist showed that she did not come to Wimbledon to be a tourist and forcefully beat Veronika Kudermetova, Donna Vekic, Jessica Pegula and Elina Svitolina in the semifinals.
“TENNIS INTELLIGENCE”
In the final, she prevailed over Tunisian Ons Jabeur, who conceded her third loss at this stage of a Grand Slam after losing last year to Kazakh Elena Rybakina at Wimbledon and Poland’s Iga Swiatek at the US Open.
“I am not surprised that she has another good run in a big tournament, because she is a super player,” former Swedish world number one Mats Wilander said of Vondrousova before the final, speaking to Eurosport.
“She doesn’t have the power of some of the best players in the world, far from it, but in terms of finesse, tennis intelligence and anticipation, she’s absolutely brilliant.”
Behind Petra Kvitova and Barbora Krejcikova, the leaders of a Czech women’s tennis that has nine players among the 53 best in the world, Vondrousova shines again.
In 2019, she reached 14th in the WTA rankings before recurring physical problems dropped her to 99 last November, when she was finally able to compete again.
A WINNING BET WITH YOUR COACH
She was dropped by her equipment supplier Nike in January – along with other players – and has yet to find a sponsor. But her victory in London should soon remedy that.
Especially since Vondrousova has style. At Wimbledon, the temple of purity where everyone wears white, the multiple tattoos on her arms drew attention.
Marketa Vondrousova during the Wimbledon final
The fairy bell from Peter Pan, a tulip, the Olympic rings, the phrase “without rain there are no flowers”, good luck charms such as the number 13 or “777” (the winning combination of slot machines)… He admits to having lost count of his tattoos, since he got his first one on his 16th birthday.
“For me it is also an art form and I love the people who make them for me,” he said.
In fact, he had made a bet with his coach, Jan Mertl, that if he won a Grand Slam tournament, he too would have to go through the tattoo artist’s needle.
No doubt Vondrousova will be able to give you a few salon addresses.
After being the first unseeded finalist at Wimbledon since Billie Jean King in 1968, Vondrousova, 42nd in the WTA rankings at the start of the tournament, also becomes the lowest-ranked winner in history, ahead of from Venus Williams, 31st when she beat Marion Bartoli in 2007.
But when the new rankings are released on Monday, he should be close to his career-high of around 16. Which is to say, in his rightful place.