‘Impossible’ underdog triumphs at Wilmbledon

afr.com:

Marketa Vondrousova has hailed her shock Wimbledon win as an “impossible” triumph after she became the first unseeded player ever to win the women’s title and left the shattered Ons Jabeur in tears.

The left-hander from the Czech Republic, ranked only 42nd in the world, outplayed sixth seed Jabeur, of Tunisia, 6-4 6-4 in Saturday’s surprisingly one-sided final under the Centre Court roof.

Vondrousova lifted her first grand slam title just a year since she visited Wimbledon as a tourist with her racquet wrist in plaster after a second bout of surgery which she feared might threaten her career.

“When I was coming back, I didn’t know what’s going to happen, if I can play at that level again,” said the 24-year-old.

“On grass, I didn’t play well before the injury. I think it was the most impossible grand slam for me to win, so I didn’t even think of it. When we came, I was just like, ‘Try to win a couple of matches.’ Now this happened. It’s crazy!”

She’s the lowest-ranked women’s winner in history and her victory was watched from the Royal Box by Billie Jean King, the last unseeded women’s singles finalist 60 years earlier.

Few had expected the Czech to tame trailblazing Jabeur, still on her mission to become the first North African and Arab woman grand slam winner in history, but there was nothing but misery for the under-performing favourite.

After her third grand slam final defeat, including last year’s final, the ever-popular Jabeur ended up breaking down in tears in the post-match on-court interview, saying: “This is the most painful loss of my career.“

But for the 24-year-old Vondrousova, who’d lost the 2019 French Open final to Ash Barty as a teenager before her wrist troubles began, there was joy in following the