Wimbledon 2023: Marketa Vondrousova blossoms to win 'impossible Grand Slam'

Marketa Vondrousova says she started Wimbledon this year thinking it would be the most impossible major to win. For her, the target was to win a couple of matches. Instead, she won all seven to lift the title at the All England Club. Her first Grand Slam title - four years on from making it to her first major final at the French Open. The Czech, World No 42, became the first unseeded woman to win Wimbledon in the Open Era. And you couldn’t fault her for keeping her expectations low. For believing this was an impossible task. For later saying, ’tennis is crazy.'

Vondrousova’s record on grass stood at 2-10 before this season. It improved to four matches after a quarterfinal run in Berlin. Only Martina Hingis, with three wins, had fewer matches won on grass courts before maiden Wimbledon triumph. The Czech player’s deepest run at Wimbledon was the second round in 2021 with three first round exits. Last year, injury forced her to visit the grounds as a spectator. Vondrousova’s only WTA title, a WTA250 level, came at Biel in 2017. She has, however, been to the finals of Tokyo Olympics and Budapest, Istanbul and French Open in 2019. She entered Wimbledon at World No 42 and became the lowest ranked women’s singles champion since introduction of WTA rankings. The previous lowest was Venus Williams, at World No 31, in 2007.

Based on rankings alone, she is the seventh-best player from Czech Republic, a country of about 11 million people. She was dropped by Nike with the drop in rankings. “When I was coming back, I didn’t know what’s going to happen, if I can play at that level again,” she said of a wrist surgery that forced her out for six months. “This seems impossible. On grass I didn’t play well before. It was the most impossible grand slam for me to win, so I didn’t even think of it. “When we came, I was like, ‘try to win couple of matches’. Now this happened, it’s crazy,” added Marketa after the win on Saturday.

Vondrousova draws looks for the array of tattoos on her body. She has her lucky number, 13, tattooed. She also has the five Olympic rings inked after her run to Tokyo Olympics final. Another, on her right elbow, are the words: “No rain, no flowers”. Wimbledon has seen plenty of rain, including some before the women’s final, and rather appropriately the 24-year-old has blossomed in the south west part of London. Not many in the 15,000 seater Center Court wanted her to win. The support was well and truly in favour of Ons Jabeur, beaten 6-4, 6-4 and who has now lost three consecutive Grand Slam titles.

Once again, Jabeur’s bid to become the first Arab or African woman to win a major has been dashed. And it was hard to not feel for the 28-year-old. “This is very, very tough,” said Jabeur on court, trying – and failing – to stop the tears. “I’m going to look ugly in the photos, so that’s not going to help. I think this is the most painful loss of my career.” At last year’s Wimbledon, Jabeur had the Wimbledon trophy as her iPhone lockscreen as motivation. This time around, she hinted there was a trophy on the lockscreen again but said she would reveal details after the final. On Saturday, though, she said it was the photo of her niece and nephew, “because the trophy didn’t work last year.” The latest disappointment didn’t deter Jabeur from chasing the trophy again. “It’s going to be a tough day for me. But I’m not going to give up. I’m going to come back stronger and win a grand slam one day,” said Ons who was consoled by Kim Clijsters after the defeat. Clijsters had lost the first four Grand Slam finals of her career.

But for Vondrousova, who was presented with the Venus Rosewater dish by Princess of Wales, it is a massive and surprising feat. She has been a disruptor of sorts. She had beaten the face of the Tokyo Olympics Naomi Osaka at her home Games. This week, in the semi-finals, she beat Elina Svitolina who had fast become a crowd favourite. Enough that a journalist tried to lap her up as a British player. And on Saturday, it was Jabeur’s turn to have her dreams dashed by ‘Maky’. “It’s unbelievable. Nobody would have told you this before when we were coming here that I even have a chance to win," said Vondrousova. “I was unseeded. It’s such a crazy journey. I can’t believe it still.”