Marketa Vondrousova celebrates with the trophy after winning the women's singles final match between Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic and Ons Jabeur of Tunisia at Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Britain, July 15, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

Ranked only 42nd in the world and with just a single main draw win in her previous four appearances at Wimbledon, Marketa Vondrousova caused quite the stir in the tennis world. She won seven consecutive matches to ultimately lift the Venus Rosewater Dish.

The Czech player triumphed over Tunisian sixth-seed Ons Jabeur in a 6-4, 6-4 showdown, that lasted one hour and 20 minutes, on Saturday. With this victory, she became the first unseeded player to clinch the women's singles title at the All England Club in the Open Era.

After sharing a warm embrace with Jabeur at the net, she knelt on the grass again and looked close to tears as she drew the acclaim of the Center Court crowd.

"After everything, I've been through - I had a cast on this time last year - and now I can't believe I'm holding this trophy," said Vondrousova after the emotional victory. "I don't know what's happening now."

The progress of Vondrousova, who just a month ago believed she was little more than a no-hoper on grass courts, has been astonishing, and quite inspirational.

For this time last year, the Czech had been at Wimbledon with her left racket-wielding wrist in plaster after a second bout of surgery and a serious question mark in her mind over whether she would ever again be that player who'd been good enough to reach the Roland-Garros final on clay as a teenager in 2019.

It took six months to get that cast removed and a few more to start to find confidence with her shot-making again.

However, for Jabeur, it was her second loss in the final at Wimbledon and her third in Grand Slams overall. The 28-year-old previously fell to Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan here one year ago and then suffered another defeat to world No. 1 Iga Swiatek at the US Open two months later.

"I think this is the most painful loss of my career. It will be a tough day for me but I will not give up and come back stronger. We are going to make it one day, I promise you," a tearful Jabeur said in the award ceremony.

Jabeur, who was vying to become the first major winner from Africa, started the final robustly in the first set, breaking twice to secure a 4-2 lead. Yet, the world No. 6 made three consecutive unforced errors in the following game, enabling Vondrousova to score a forehand winner and break back.

Ons Jabeur hits a return during the women's singles final match between Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic and Ons Jabeur of Tunisia at Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Britain, July 15, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

With Jabeur still struggling to reduce her unforced errors, Vondrousova won four games in a row to take a one-set lead. Jabeur had 15 unforced errors in the first set, contrasted with only six from her opponent.

The second set was a tug-of-war - Jabeur surged to a 3-1 lead before Vondrousova battled back to level it at 3-3. A crucial break in the ninth game offered Vondrousova a chance. The former French Open finalist played with such composure during her service, converting her second match point to clinch the victory with a volley at the net.

It was Jabeur's third loss to Vondrousova in 2023 - at the Australian Open and in Miami, and now at Wimbledon.

Vondrousova's husband has also arrived at the All England Club to watch her biggest moment after they finally found a cat sitter. This weekend also marked the couple's first wedding anniversary.

"I think I'm going to have some beer maybe. It was an exhausting two weeks, and I was getting myself together the last few days. I was so nervous before this game," she said.

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