Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic became one of the most unlikely Wimbledon champions Saturday, beating Ons Jabeur, a trailblazing Tunisian, in straight sets.
Vondrousova, 24, became the latest in a long line of Czech-born women to lift the most important trophy in the sport, going back to Martina Navratilova’s domination of Wimbledon in the 1980s, after Navratilova had defected to the United States.
Like Navratilova, Vondrousova is a left-handed player with a nasty slice serve that she used throughout the afternoon in the tensest moments when Jabeur tried to take control of the match or mount yet another comeback.
For Jabeur, the loss in a second straight Wimbledon final, against an opponent who had accomplished far less than other women she beat on the way to the precipice of tennis history, was nothing less than heartbreaking. Jabeur has now lost three of the last five Grand Slam finals, falling just short of becoming the first woman of Arab descent and from Africa to win the most important championships in tennis.
Like most tennis players, Jabeur has long dreamed of winning Wimbledon and last year used a picture of the women’s trophy as the lock screen on her phone.
Jabeur started fast, breaking a nervous Vondrousova’s serve repeatedly in the first set. She was…
