MARKETA Vondrousova was in the way of Ons Jabeur’s attempt to make African and Arab tennis history at today’s Wimbledon women’s singles final in London.
The 24-year-old Czech pulled off a 6-4, 6-4 victory in the surprisingly straightforward final to make her own piece of history.
She completed one of the most unexpected runs to the Wimbledon title, becoming the first unseeded woman to ever win the title.
Today’s final had been built up to be the day when Tunisian sixth seed Jabeur would finally become the first Arab and first African woman to win a Grand Slam title.
Instead, 28-year-old Jabeur was left in tears of frustration as her Wimbledon dream was shattered in the final for the second straight year.
After completing her fairytale run, Vondrousova knelt down on the grass, reveling in her triumphant moment.
She had won only one match at Wimbledon before this year and 12 months ago she had been in London as a tennis tourist with her arm and elbow in a plaster cast as she recovered from a second wrist surgery.
“I don’t know what’s happening right now,” Vondrousova said during the presentation ceremony as she was given a standing ovation by a 15,000-strong capacity Centre Court crowd that included tennis greats Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova.
“Ons, you are such an inspiration for all of us and I hope you will win this one day; you are an amazing person.
“This time last year I had a cast on so it’s amazing that I can now stand here and hold this (trophy), it’s crazy.
“It’s amazing as tomorrow is the first anniversary of our wedding. I am exhausted but I am so proud. I am going to have a beer as it’s been an exhausting two weeks.”
Jabeur, who made 31 unforced errors in a shoddy final performance, was left wondering what might have been.
“This is very, very, tough. I am going to look ugly for those photos,” the 28-year-old Jabeur told the crowd as tears poured down her face.
“This is the most painful loss of my career. Today is going to be a tough day for me but I’m not going to give up and I am going to come back stronger. It’s been a tough journey but I promise I will come back and one day win this tournament.”
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