Marketa Vondrousova surprisingly won the 2023 Wimbledon Championships by upsetting Ons Jabeur in the final.
While Vondrousova has had success against Jabeur in the past, nobody really expected the Czech player to beat a player that had a far better record on the grass on the WTA Tour. Jabeur was a former finalist at Wimbledon, one that was one set away from winning it, while Vondrousova largely struggled on the surface.
She surprised many, including herself, with the run and, ultimately, performance in the final as she overcame a slow start to win the match in comfortable two sets. Speaking to the WTA Insider after the final, Vondrousova admitted that winning Wimbledon was probably the least likely scenario to ever happen in her career.
I think for me, it was the most impossible one because I grew up on clay. I'm playing good on hard courts. But the grass was very strange for me and a very tough surface to play on.
I played semis in juniors, but that was it. I played a couple of matches here in previous years, and that was it. When we came here, I thought,' OK, I'm going to try to win a couple of matches and just try.' I mean, this is amazing.
When it comes to clay babies growing up and dominating on grass, we have two at this year's Wimbledon. Both Alcaraz and Vondrousova didn't think they would be capable of winning the event, but ultimately they posed together with the trophies.
Speaking further to the WTA Vondrousova touched upon what this will mean for her career. It's generally accepted that Grand Slam champions have a particular target on their back and the Czech is expecting that after the Wimbledon win.
I feel like if you have the Grand Slam, nobody can take it from you. You are a bit calmer that you have it. But I feel like everybody wants more. I'm going to be the target now. I'm going to be Top 10, so I feel like everybody's going to watch you. I think the girls want to beat you, so it's having a target on your back. But I think that's a good thing to have.
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