Wimbledon 2023: Vondrousova reaches semi-finals for the first time

London, ENGLAND – Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) continued her "crazy" ride through the Wimbledon draw with an astonishing comeback victory in the Yonex showdown with Jessica Pegula (USA) that took her into the semi-finals for the first time. 

Trailing 1-4 in the final set, the unseeded Czech was inspired to produce her best tennis of the match, perhaps even her highest level of The Championships so far, to win the next five games for a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory.

Until this summer, Vondrousova had only ever won a single match on the lawns of the All England Club, but now she finds herself just two more victories away from lifting the Venus Rosewater Dish on Saturday afternoon. While Vondrousova is best known for her abilities on clay, having reached the Roland-Garros final in 2019, you can understand why she is now saying that she is "loving grass". Asked in an on-court interview how she felt about being in the Wimbledon semi-finals, Vondrousova said it was "crazy". 

Amazingly, Vondrousova has defeated four seeded opponents to make the last four, which is an indication of the quality of the tennis she has been playing this summer on a surface that she hasn't always been comfortable on. 

Pegula was winning 3-1 in the final set when, with rain on the way, the roof was closed over No.1 Court. As the match was paused, Pegula left the court and put on her headphones, leaning against the corridor wall and listening to music in an effort to keep her focus, and when play resumed she won the next game. But Vondrousova, who was playing under a closed roof at Wimbledon for the first time, then went on her five-game run to advance into the semi-finals.

This was unfortunate for Pegula, who had also been playing in her first Wimbledon quarter-final, having never previously gone past the third round here. 

While Vondrousova is No. 42 in the world, she will be the highest ranked player in her semi-final on Thursday as she faces Elina Svitolina, a Ukrainian wild card who is No. 76. 

Yonex popular with the next generation 

Twenty-nine leading juniors are playing with Yonex racquets at Wimbledon, with 16 girls and 13 boys. That is 23 per cent of the total numbers of juniors here, making Yonex one of the top brands used among the next generation of tennis stars.