Marketa Vondrousova is the Ladies' champion at Wimbledon 2023 as the 42nd-ranked Czech defeated sixth seed Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-4 in one hour, 20 minutes on Centre Court.
Vondrousova completed an unlikely run to her first Grand Slam title after having just four career match wins on grass entering the fortnight as she trailed by a break in both sets, 4-2 in the first and 3-1 in the second before rallying each time.
The win makes the 24-year-old the fourth Czech woman to claim the Venus Rosewater Dish, joining Martina Navratilova, who won nine times, Petra Kvitova, twice the champion and Jana Novotna, 1998 titlist.
For Jabeur, the defeat represents her third runner-up finish at a major in the last five having been defeated here and at the U.S. Open in 2022 as she continued her quest to become the first Arab woman to win a Grand Slam trophy.
While Vondrousova hit just ten winners through the course of the final, she made 25 unforced errors as compared to 31 for her Tunisian rival, many of those coming in key moments.
The Czech was victorious against Jabeur for the third time this year, having defeated her at the Australian Open in three sets and in straight sets at Indian Wells.
Story of the match
Jabeur was out of the blocks quickly as she held in a tough opening service game and broke Vondrousova's serve at the second time of asking for a 2-0 lead.
The Czech, with her clever all-court game, broke back in a marathon game that lasted 12 points, but the Tunisian was back on top as she began to dictate the points and broke at love to go in front 4-2.
That's where the match turned as Vondrousova won five games on the spin, using her mix of drop shots, lefty serves and slices to take command of the championship tilt.
Jabeur hit a backhand out on set point and the world number 42 quickly gained the edge at the start of the second set, the sixth seed gifting her a break chance with another of her 31 errors and the Czech gladly took her opportunity.
It was then the now three-time major runner-up's turn to go on a streak of games as she found her ground game just in time, smacking three winners to break after trailing in the game 40-0.
Two subsequent games put Jabeur on top 3-1, but perhaps owing to her inability to manage her nerves, the Tunisian was broken straightaway and the set was back on serve.
Both players got to 30-30 in the ensuing service games of their opponents, but neither could break through. In the ninth game, Vondrousova watched as Jabeur sprayed a pair of forehands to break for a 5-4 lead.
Serving for the title, the Czech calmly arrived at triple championship point and after the first went begging courtesy of a double fault, a backhand volley on the run sealed Vondrousova's first major title, a just reward for her outstanding play through the whole of the fortnight.
