Markéta Vondroušová reached her first Wimbledon final after a scintillating performance against Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, winning 6-3 6-3 in just an hour and 14 minutes.
The 24-year-old Czech star is the first unseeded woman in the Open Era to reach the Wimbledon final and her exquisitely varied game was too much for Svitolina to handle.
Vondroušová will face world No. 6 Ons Jabeur in the final after the Tunisian outlasted No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 6-7(5) 6-4 6-3.
It was an inspired performance from Vondroušová, who rose to the occasion on Centre Court and got the better of her opponent with a potent mix of speed, spin and power to reach the second grand slam final of her career.
There was to be no fairytale ending to Svitolina’s dream run in SW19, but the Ukrainian will undoubtedly leave with her head held high after inspiring her compatriots all over the world.
“I cannot believe it, I’m just very happy that I made the final against Elina, she’s such a fighter and also such a great person and it was a tough match,” Vondroušová said in her on-court interview. “I’m very happy.
“I was crazy nervous, I was nervous the whole match. I was leading 4-0 [in the second set] and she came back and broke me twice, so I had to stay focused and try to fight for every game and I’m thankful for you guys and your amazing support.
“I didn’t play for six months last year. You never know if you can be at that level again, so I’m grateful to be here and healthy. I was watching quallies with a cast on last year, so it’s a change but I’m very grateful.”
After reaching the French Open final in 2019 as a 20-year-old, Vondroušová looked set to become a force at the top of the women’s game. However, injuries stalled her progress and surgery in 2022 forced her to miss three of the year’s four grand slams as her ranking slipped out of the world’s top 120.
One of Vondroušová’s many tattoos – she told the Czech media she’s lost count of how many she has – says “No rain, no flowers” and the world No. 42 has endured her fair share of dark skies.
Remarkably, Vondroušová doesn’t even have an official clothing sponsor – that is likely to change before the end of the week.
After trailing 4-0 in the second set, Svitolina showed all the resiliency and grit that has been on display during her incredible run in SW19 to break Vondroušová back twice and make it 4-3.
Svitolina, who began her fortnight with a straight sets win over Venus Williams in the first round, only returned to the tour three months ago after giving birth to her daughter, Skaï Monfils, in October.
Currently ranked world No. 76, she was was given a wildcard to compete at this year’s Wimbledon and her incredible run included wins over four grand slam champions – Venus Williams, Sofia Kenin, Victoria Azarenka and Iga Świątek.
Svitolina’s run at The All England Lawn Tennis Club equals her career best performance in a grand slam, matching her semifinal appearances at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2019, but she was unable to go one better and reach her first major final as Vondroušová found her nerve once again to break her opponent and then serve for the match.