In the four years since Marketa Vondrousova first reached a grand slam final, at the French Open, women’s tennis has seen significant changes. As many of the top players of previous generations have retired, new contenders have emerged and others have already fallen. In the tour’s ever-changing landscape, it still was not clear whether this talented, unique lefty from the Czech Republic would fulfil the early promise she showed as a 19-year-old in Paris.
Her long-awaited breakthrough has come under surprising circumstances, on a surface that she had a dire 2-10 record on at the beginning of the grass-court season last month. No matter, on Saturday afternoon, the unseeded Czech completed a magical fortnight by defeating Ons Jabeur, the sixth seed, 6-4, 6-4 to become a grand slam champion for the first time at Wimbledon.
