Marketa Vondrousova rises from the ashes as she lifts the Wimbledon title a year after spending weeks in a cast

Marketa Vondrousova has a Wimbledon run that will go down as one of the greatest as the unseeded Czech lifts the Venus Rosewater Dish.

Marketa Vondrousova rises from the ashes as she lifts the Wimbledon title a year after spending weeks in a cast

Marketa Vondrousova (Credits: The Independent)

Wimbledon history is replete with instances where the underdogs bark and bite. Saturday was no different at the Centre Court as unsung leftie Marketa Vondrousova pummelled Ons Jabeur into submission to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish, a symbol of supremacy in women’s tennis at The Championships 2023. For some, the result may be an anti-climax.

For some, Ons losing a final for the second time in a row on the hallowed green turf at All England Club’s prime property would be laced with emotions. The fact is, Ons Jabeur, who had played brilliant tennis through the fortnight flopped in the final. There is something called the law of averages that applies in sports. There is something called peaking too early. All this applied to the Tunisian heroine, who had backing from the Arab World as well as Africa.

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For many, Ons Jabeur is an icon, a path-breaker. After all, not too many Muslim women do so well in tennis. Even when India’s own Sania Mirza started doing well in pro tennis almost two decades ago, there was a lot of intrigue and tongue-wagging from the Western World. Back to Saturday’s final, Marketa, from the Czech Republic, has been a maverick of sorts.

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The number of tattoos on her body would suggest she spends more time in tattoo parlors. No, she turned out to be quite the heroine, the quiet type. She never minded it that the hype and hoopla were over Ons, her opponent. After all, to be World No. 42, not seeded at Wimbledon, and then come out smoking in a long fortnight was part of heady stuff.

Keep Exploring: WATCH: Ons Jabeur cries inconsolably as she loses her second Wimbledon finals in a row after defeat to Marketa Vondrousova

Marketa Vondrousova continues to honor the Czech history

Marketa Vondrousova
Marketa Vondrousova (Credits: Wimbledon)

Czechs have a great pedigree in tennis. Marketa showed that this virtue would hold her in good stead in a draw where she was not given a ghost of a chance by the punters. Then again, when Marketa showed that lunge volley to seal the victory, it was a sign of her confidence level. To be pumped up is one thing and to execute the plan is quite another. So, is the script about Ons losing or Marketa winning subjective, not objective? Ons was going great guns.

Perhaps, she had peaked too early, beating some of the top guns, Iga Swiatek included. Then again, the best of players have struggled to cope with stage fright, when the moment is huge. Will Ons be called a choker? Maybe, yes, for none loses a final so tamely after having been in rip-roaring form throughout the Wimbledon fortnight. Last year, Ons had lost to Elena Rybakina in the final at the same venue. Two times runner up is sad.

Back to Marketa, she joins the illustrious club of Wimbledon champions from the Czech Republic. Grand old lady Martina Navratilova hailed from Czechoslovakia when she won nine Wimbledon titles. It later broke into two nations, Czech and Slovakia. Martina moved to the USA, so fans had to wait many years before Petra Kvitova sealed it with Czech class.

Long after Kvitova won, seemingly so, Market has turned out to be more than a tattoo freak. She has been doing crazy stuff in her life. Marketa had even extracted a promise from her coach he would also be forced into the tattoo drill if she won the title! Well, she has sealed the biggest title and the coach cannot break the promise made. Where does Marketa go from here? She has dealt with trauma, injuries, and much more.

She began playing tennis at four, and reached the French Open final in 2019, that’s five years ago. Now aged 24, Marketa is the Wimbledon champion. If one Grand Slam title can make the Southpaw a heroine, Marketa has truly arrived. On Saturday, she gave Ons Jabeur tennis lessons, left and right. Literally!

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