Marketa Vondrousova showed there was no room for any gushing sentiment as she ended the remarkable run of new mum Elina Svitolina with a 6-3 6-3 victory over the Ukrainian to reach the Wimbledon final for the first time on Thursday.
In the run-up to a first All England Club women’s semi-final featuring two unseeded players, Vondrousova said Svitolina was “incredible”, “amazing”, “a fighter” and “a super woman” for reaching the last four of a Grand Slam nine months after giving birth to daughter Skai.
But that did not stop Vondrousova from trampling all over Svitolina’s dreams and she now stands on the cusp of becoming the first unseeded woman to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish when she faces Tunisian sixth seed Ons Jabeur in Saturday’s final.
“I cannot believe it. I’m very happy that I made the final. Elina is such a fighter and a great person. It was a tough match. I’m very happy,” said 42nd-ranked Vondrousova, who had never progressed beyond the second round here before this year.
“Grass was impossible for me. It’s even crazier that this is happening.”
Vondrousova is also one win away from completing her own phenomenal comeback story after two wrist surgeries following her runner-up finish at the French Open in 2019.
“I didn’t play for six months last year and you never know if you can be at that level again. I’m just so grateful to be here and to be healthy and play tennis again,” added the 24-year-old, who had fallen so far off the tennis radar that she has been playing at this year’s championships without a clothing sponsor.
