Wimbledon 2023: Vondrousova inks her name in Wimbledon history

By James Toney at Wimbledon

Perhaps now we can stop talking about Marketa Vondrousova's tattoos, as she inked her name in Wimbledon history.

Asked to explain her many etchings, Vondrousova pointed to her arm which read 'no rain, no flowers'.

After several years in the doldrums, she was finally in full bloom among the roses, hydrangeas and petunias of the All England Club.

Seasoned observers told us to expect the unexpected in this match and they were not wrong as Vondrousova pulled off a shock in what was, in truth, a pretty shocking Wimbledon women's singles final.

She became the first unseeded woman to win the title, as the world number 42, who arrived in SW19 unfancied, unheralded and unsponsored, beat Tunisia's Ons Jabeur, last year's beaten finalist, 6-4 6-4.

Errors punctuated a match in which both players seemed initially stricken with big stages nerves, there were nine breaks of serve in the first 17 games.

It won't be a new entry in the list of Wimbledon Classics but Vondrousova rightly won't care, on a gusty day, where high winds forced organisers to close the roof for the final, she simply blew her lacklustre rival away.

Her career, which promised so much after reaching the French Open final as a teenager, looked to have stalled after a succession of wrist injuries, this win a credit to her powers of perseverance and the words stained above her left elbow.

"I think you just have to believe in yourself," she said. "I came here thinking no stress, just try and win a couple of matches and see where that takes you.

“When I was coming back from my injuries, I didn't know what was going to happen, whether I could play at this level again. Last week I was just happy to be playing well and winning matches.

"I didn't really ever allow myself the chance to think about the title, that was the only way I could keep my nerves together. In my head, I was really calm the whole match. I think the semis I was more nervous than this final. I think that was the main key to this title, that fact that I just kept believing.

"I think you know, without failure there is no success, so you have to go through hard times. If you keep working hard, you'll get rewards, I really believe that."

They are words in which Jabeur may find some solace. She has enjoyed a brilliant Wimbledon campaign, claiming the scalps of four Grand Slam champions in her last four matches.

This was her third major final but it was not third time lucky, after defeats last year in SW19 and Flushing Meadows.

It was a tough watch for fans of one of the most likeable players on Tour, Jabeur landed just 44% of first serves in the first set and ended with 31 unforced errors, her game suddenly deserting her when she needed it most.

The 28-year-old loves to chase every cause, conjuring a full range of shots to find winners from the most improbable positions.

However, the disruptive Vondrousova simply gave her no chance to establish a rhythm, her conservative approach underlined by the fact she hit just ten winners to secure only her second career win.

There is no tougher place to lose than a final and Jabeur has now experienced it three times in the last five Grand Slam tournaments.

However, this one will sting more, it was a match she simply should have won.

For nearly 20 minutes she sat in her chair as Vondrousova took the trophy to all corners of the court. You could see her inner turmoil as the tears streaked down her face. Had she blown her best chance?

But there are examples from which she can take inspiration, Jana Novotna lost two Wimbledon finals before finally claiming the prize, Chris Evert lost three major finals but ended up with 18 career Slams.

Hall of Famer Kim Clijsters, an informal advisor and close friend of Jabeur, lost four before winning the next four on the spin.

"This is the most painful loss of my career," said Jabeur.

"It's a tough day but I won't give up, I'll come back stronger. We are going to make it one day, I promise you, I'm going to win this tournament.

"Kim and I were crying together at the locker room, I love Kim so much. She's a great inspiration for me, I grew up watching her a bit. The fact that she takes the time to give me advice and to really hug me, always be there for me, I think it's priceless.

"She was telling me all the time she lost four, that's the positive out of it. You cannot force things. It wasn't meant to be.

"It's painful because you feel so close to achieving something that you want and then it's back to square one.

"I’ll just try to get rid of these negative thoughts and continue being positive.”

What is it about Czech left-handers at Wimbledon - Martina Navratilova, Petra Kvitová and now Vondrousova, still just 24. There have only been five lefties, Angelique Kerber and Ann Jones are the others, to have claimed the Venus Rosewater Dish, the fact three are from a country of just ten million people is quite remarkable.

Navratilova and Kvitová were naturals on the grass but Vondrousova had won just four matches on the surface in her entire career before this fortnight and just once in four previous visits to SW19.

"When I saw my draw, I didn't have too much confidence, I thought I'll be home fairly fast," she added.

"After a couple of matches I started to think, maybe something can happen here but I never expected this,” she added.

"It meant I didn't really feel any stress until today, I was just open-minded and relaxed. When I had the match point I almost couldn't breathe."