arketa Vondrousova admitted that winning Wimbledon had previously seemed so “impossible” to her that she did not even contemplate it.
The 24-year-old became the first unseeded player to win the Wimbledon women’s singles title with a shock final victory over Ons Jabeur, beating the Tunisian 6-4, 6-4 under the Centre Court roof.
A year ago Vondrousova was a tourist and a fan in London, taking in the sights and watching her friend in Wimbledon qualifying, all while wearing a cast on her injured left wrist.
She arrived at the Championships this year with just one main-draw Wimbledon win from four previous visits, but victories over the likes of Jessica Pegula and Elina Svitolina booked her place in a second Grand Slam final.
This was four years on from a heavy defeat to Ash Barty at the French Open, and Vondrousova ensured it ended with a first Slam title.
“This seems impossible,” she said. “Even, I don’t know, on grass I didn’t play well before.
“I think it was the most impossible Grand Slam for me to win, so I didn’t even think of it. When we came, I was just like: ‘try to win a couple of matches’. Now this happened, it’s crazy.”
Vondrousova was broken in her first service game of both sets but repeatedly found a way to hit back, taking full advantage of an error-strewn display from Jabeur, who beat herself for large periods of the match. The Tunisian made 31 unforced errors, compared to just 13 from the other side of the net.
A break set the stage for Vondrousova to serve for the match at 5-4 and she gave herself three chances to get over the finish line. The first went, but the second match point was converted with a volley at the net, as she then collapsed in celebration.
“I’m just so happy that I could stay focused,” Vondrousova said. “It’s very tough. People are cheering and everything. When it was 40-0, I couldn’t breathe. I just was thinking to myself, ‘just be over’. I was like crazy nervous.
Ons Jabeur lost a third Grand Slam final as she suffered more Wimbledon disappointment
/ Getty Images“It was such a relief when I put the match point in.”
Jabeur, meanwhile, was forced to reflect on a third Grand Slam final defeat. She leaves Wimbledon as runner-up for the second year in a row, and with her major wait extended.
The Tunisian, who was beaten by Elena Rybakina in last year’s final and then by Iga Swiatek at the US Open two months later, admitted this defeat was particularly tough to take, having walked onto Centre Court nervous but very much the favourite.
“I felt I was doing everything right,” Jabeur said. “Again, the same thing that happened last year. It’s painful because you feel so close to achieving something that you want, and actually back to square one.”
She added: “I felt a lot of pressure, feeling a lot of stress. But like every final, like every match I played, I was telling myself it’s okay, it’s normal. I honestly did nothing wrong. I did everything that I could.”