Wimbledon 2023: Vondrousova's surprise, historic run to the final

London, ENGLAND – Surprising everyone at Wimbledon, including herself, Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) has become the first unseeded women’s finalist in the Open Era.

 

As the Yonex ambassador has said, this is a "crazy" story; you could go further and say it is right up there as one of Wimbledon's most astonishing tales. Until this summer, Vondrousova had only ever won one match here and she felt as though playing on grass was "impossible" but she was willing to give it a try. She came into this Championships as the World No. 42, having missed six months of last season because of injury.

 

But, as Vondrousova has said, her story demonstrates how "anything can happen in tennis" and, after beating Ukraine's Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-3, now only Tunisia's Ons Jabeur stands between the left-handed Czech and the Venus Rosewater Dish. 

 

Remarkably, this is the second time that Vondrousova has made an unseeded run to a Grand Slam final as she managed the same feat at Roland-Garros in 2019, but that was on clay, her favourite surface. That she has done so again on grass is even more extraordinary. By reaching the final, Vondrousova has already made history. If she can defeat Jabeur to win her first Grand Slam title, that would undoubtedly be one of the most astonishing stories in the long, rich history of the All England Club. 

 

Making her first appearance on Centre Court, Vondrousova felt "crazy nerves" against Svitolina, but she still managed to beat the wild card in straight sets.

"I didn't play many matches on grass before. My best [result at Wimbledon] was the second round. For me, when it was clay or hard, maybe I would say, ‘yeah, maybe it's possible’. But grass was impossible for me. It's even crazier that this is happening," said Vondrousova. "Crazy" is a word that Vondrousova has been using a lot. You'll hear it again if she wins on Saturday. 

 

Oda opened with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over fellow Japanese Takuya Miki which took him the semi-finals. He is trying to become the third man to win the Roland-Garros and Wimbledon wheelchair men's singles titles in the same season.