Marketa Vondrousova wins Wimbledon, as Ons Jabeur falls to 0-3 in Grand Slam finals
"I think this is the most painful loss of my career," said the Tunisian, with tears in her eyes.
Ons Jabeur and Marketa Vondrousova each came into Saturday's Wimbledon final 0-2 in major finals: Jabeur finished runner-up last year at both Wimbledon and the US Open, while Vondrousova has finished second at Roland Garros and at the Olympics.
That makes Vondrousova's 6-4, 6-4 win all the more sweet—and Jabeur's loss all the more painful.
Jabeur was pegged as the favorite heading into this match, given her victories over Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka this fortnight, and her previous experience in a Wimbledon final. But that also meant the pressure was on her to finish her story—one of global resonance, given the Tunisian's breakthrough career in the Arab and African world—and that Vondrousova could swing free.
We saw that meant when the 24-year-old Czech fell behind big against Jessica Pegula, so it wasn't too surprising that she quickly recovered from an early 2-0 deficit. But when Jabeur let a subsequent break-of-serve lead slip, and then dropped the final four games of the first set (and 16 of its last 18 points), it became clear that the 28-year-old world No. 6 was feeling the magnitude of the moment.
It appeared that Vondrousova could sprint away with this final when she took a 40-0 lead on serve while up 6-4, 1-0. To her credit, Jabeur stabilized, all the way to 4-4 in the second set. But she never, ever looked comfortable in this match from playing perspective, and especially with her body language.
"We didn't see the fight today did we?" said Chris Evert on ESPN after the 80-minute final.
A Jabeur unforced error—an all-too-common sight on Centre Court today—gave Vondrousova the match's final break for a 5-4 lead, and she closed it out with relative ease. Petra Kvitova, her fellow left-handed compatriot and two-time Wimbledon champion, would be proud.
I think this is the most painful loss of my career. Ons Jabeur
Vondrousova, who has beaten Jabeur in all three of their meetings this year, becomes the first unseeded woman to win Wimbledon.
"The comeback's not easy," said Vondrousova, who was wearing a cast at this time last year, and who has dealt with multiple surgeries. "After the second one, I was playing the small tournaments, and I was hoping I could come back at this level."
She's back, and better than ever.