Unseeded Czech Marketa Vondrousova steamrolled into the Wimbledon women’s final, where she’ll meet sixth-seeded Ons Jabeur.
Jabeur of Tunisia rallied for a 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3 win over No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in two hours and 19 minutes in Thursday’s second semifinal.
Vondrousova faced no such drama, rolling to a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in the first semi.
Vondrousova, 24, reached the final at the All England Club for the first time and is only the fifth unseeded woman to get this far. She’s in the second Grand Slam final of her career after eliminating Svitolina in just over an hour on Centre Court.
“I cannot believe it,” she said after the match Thursday.
The 2019 French Open finalist was fighting “crazy nerves” in closing out the final set, when she built a 4-0 lead. Vondrousova led 4-2 and double faulted on game point, twice broken by an energized Svitolina, who reached the semifinal by eliminating No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
Billie Jean Moffitt (later King) was the last unseeded women’s finalist in 1963.
Vondrousova is the fourth Czech woman to reach the Wimbledon final, joining Jana Novotna, Petra Kvitova and Karolina Pliskova.
–Field Level Media
