Marketa Vondrousova ends Elina Svitolina’s fairytale run as she reaches maiden Wimbledon finals

Marketa Vondrousova is into her second Grand Slam singles finals as she beats former World No. 3 Elina Svitolina in the semis of the 2023 Wimbledon.

Marketa Vondrousova ends Elina Svitolina’s fairytale run as she reaches maiden Wimbledon finals

Marketa Vondrousova (Credits: The Independent)

World No. 42 Marketa Vondrousova is in the Wimbledon finals for the first time ever. Up against super mom Elina Svitolina in the semis, the Czech youngster defeated her 6-3, 6-3 in 1 hour and 14 minutes on her Centre Court debut. Svitolina made a good start to the first set as both players could not be separated. The Ukrainian was the first to be broken but immediately got the break back.

Vondrousova broke yet again and then held her serve to take the upper hand in the set. She eventually closed it in the ninth game of the set to draw the first blood. The second set saw her race to a quick 3-0 lead snatching the match nearly out of Svitolina’s hand. The duo shared a long game with multiple duece in the fourth game but Vondrousova held her fort to eventually break once again and make it 4-0 in the second set.

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Serving at 4-0, Marketa nearly closed the game without losing a point but an unforced error saw Svitolina make it 15-40 on the board. The duo then played a sensational rally where Svitolina came out on top to transfer back some pressure. The pressure did have an impact as the Czech made yet another double fault in the match resulting in a deuce. It eventually went on to three deuces before Svitolina earned her first break of the set on her second break point.

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Svitolina was her most dominant in the next two games staging a mini comeback making it 4-3. The crowd also started cheering her further as things started moving in her direction. Vondrousova however broke her momentum to make it 5-3 and get on serve to close the match. Svitolina managed to make it 30-30 as Vondrousova’s double faults woes caught up with her. She however managed her nerves and closed it out to reach the finals.

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Will the second time be the charm for Marketa Vondrousova?

Marketa Vondrousova
Marketa Vondrousova (Credits: The Globe)

It was no surprise that nerves were playing their part against the Czech. Even during her on-court interview, she was still catching her breath. “I cannot believe it. I am very happy that I made the final. Elina is such a fighter and a great person. It was a tough match. I am very happy. I was crazy nervous! I was nervous the whole match. I was leading 4-0 in the second set and she fought back. Thank you to you guys for your amazing support,” said a delighted Vondrousova.

She made her mark for the first time at the 2019 French Open. She finished as the runner-up despite being unseeded and still in her teens. She did not drop a single set before the finals but Ash Barty was too big an obstacle for her to overcome. Since then, she has however picked up the Olympics silver medal as well at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

With three straight-set wins in the first three rounds followed by two three-setters, Vondrousova has fought and won through every circumstance. But a maiden Grand Slam still evades her. She has already become the first unseeded finalist of Wimbledon in the Open Era and the first since 1963. Can her quest finally end on Saturday?

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