Nine years ago, 24-year-old Petra Kvitova demolished Eugenie Bouchard with quite possibly the most complete performance in a Grand Slam final this century. It was as if history was repeating itself on a chilly Thursday afternoon on Wimbledon‘s hallowed Centre Court.
This time it wasn’t Kvitova delivering a masterclass. It was 24-year-old Marketa Vondrousova, also a Czech, who hails from the quiet suburb of Sokolov, that produced a virtuoso performance that ended Elina Svitolina’s interest at the Championships to reach her second Major final.
The end of the road for Svitolina
For nearly two weeks, Svitolina was the biggest story at the Championships. Having returned from a maternity break only three and half months ago, the Ukrainian star added an aggressive edge to her game and reached a quarterfinal at her first Grand Slam tournament since her comeback in Paris last month. There, she entered with a protected ranking.
However, she relied on a wild card to enter the Wimbledon main draw. Evidence of Svitolina’s improvements in her game had been plentiful in the last 10 days. Svitolina swept past four Grand Slam champions, including top seed Iga Swiatek, who she defeated in a three-set thriller in a match drenched with drama on Tuesday.
Irresistible Vondrousova shows she can play on grass
Vondorusova had been equally impressive in reaching her first Wimbledon semifinal. The rampant lefty had operated beneath the radar at SW19. She was bound to exit the tournament in the quarterfinal stage, but Jessica Pegula let her off the hook, trailing 1-4 in the third set.
Vondrousova was at least two steps ahead of Svitolina in Thursday’s semifinal. Both players were bundled by nerves in the early stages. They quickly exchanged breaks midway through the first set. But Vondrousova showed the depth of her game, stretching Svitolina with her slider serve and disrupting rallies with a myriad of drop shots. That tactic left Svitolina without answers, and the Czech was winning over half her return points.
Vondrousova up to 16 in the Live Rankings with 0 points to defend till November
Amazing that this comes on grass after a slightly underwhelming clay season. Nervy finish today, but the defensive shotmaking was off the charts to back up the continually smart serving and dropshots
— Damian Kust (@damiankust) July 13, 2023
Vondorusova, with a lifetime record of 5-11 on grass before this year, had left many puzzled on why she hasn’t won a ton of matches. As Sania Mirza, the former doubles pro, would add on the commentary that Vondrousova was born to play on this surface. And Sania, like many of us, was simply blown away by Vondrousova’s neat ball striking and her increased willingness to stretch for balls that looked certain winners.
Vondorusova ran riot in the second set, racing to a 4-0 lead, and had game point on her serve to increase that cushion. Credit to Svitolina for hanging tough, and managing to make a match out of it. She reeled the Czech in for at least three more games. But despite getting the set back on serve at 3-4, she was broken with alarming ease in her next game.
With the match firmly on her racket, Marketa Vondrousova held to punch her ticket to a maiden Wimbledon final.
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
