Anurag Kumar
Ons Jabeur and Marketa Vondrousova will face off in the women’s final at Wimbledon on Saturday, sparing the All England from a potentially embarrassing diplomatic issue.
Sixth-ranked Tunisian Jabeur overcame deficits of a set and 4-2 to defeat Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 6-3 and advance to her second consecutive tournament final.
Left-handed Czech Vondrousova defeated Elina Svitolina with a 6-3, 6-3 victory, becoming the first unseeded woman in 60 years to reach the final.
Sabalenka would have received the trophy from Princess Catherine, the wife of the heir to the British throne, had she won the title on Saturday, a year after all Belarusian and Russian competitors were banned from the tournament due to the invasion of Ukraine.
Russia’s main ally is Belarus.
If Svitolina had reached the final, she would have continued her policy of refusing to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian opponents in protest of the conflict.
At this year’s tournament, Tunisian trailblazer Jabeur has rallied back three times after dropping the opening set.
She said, “I’m very proud of myself because perhaps the old me would have lost the match today and gone home, but I’m glad I dug deep and found the strength.”
After losing to Elena Rybakina at Wimbledon and Iga Swiatek at the US Open last year, she will compete in her third Grand Slam final this Saturday.
Sabalenka, 25, who was competing in her fourth consecutive Grand Slam semifinal and sixth overall, overcame a 2/4 deficit in the tiebreak to win the first set.
She also served the quickest women’s serve at Wimbledon this year, clocking in at 121 miles per hour (194.7 kilometres per hour).
Sabalenka, who had vanquished Jabeur en route to the Wimbledon semifinals in 2021, broke for a 3-2 advantage in the second set.
This deficit grew to 4-2 before Jabeur battled back to win the next four games and tie the match.
Sabalenka’s resolve waned, and she was broken in the sixth game of the deciding set before Jabeur won the match with a fifth ace on match point.
– ‘Lot of responsibility’ –
Sabalenka hit 39 winners but committed 45 unforced errors as her dreams of adding the Wimbledon title to her Australian Open victory and surpassing Swiatek as the world’s top-ranked player were dashed.
“I had so many opportunities but did not take advantage of them. She performed better in crucial instances, according to the Belarusian.
After reaching the 2019 French Open runner-up position, world number 42 Vondrousova will compete in her second Grand Slam final.
The 24-year-old was rewarded for her aggressive play on Thursday, breaking serve six times and striking 22 winners compared to Svitolina’s nine.
“I find it unbelievable. I am ecstatic to have reached the final. “Elina is an incredible fighter and person,” said the Czech. “I was extremely anxious.”
The Czech’s journey to the final has been difficult; she underwent a second wrist operation last year, which will keep her out of action for a significant portion of 2022.
The 76th-ranked Svitolina, who just returned from maternity leave in April, had three service errors in the opening set.
She retrieved the first to even the score at 3-3, but the Czech broke in the seventh and ninth games to take the lead.
An error-plagued Svitolina fell behind 4-0 in the second set.
However, Vondrousova, who had defeated four seeded players to reach the semifinals, suddenly experienced mid-set jitters, returning the breaks to enable Svitolina to close to 3-4.
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Svitolina then reversed all her hard work by being broken again in the eighth game, before allowing her opponent to advance to the final by pushing a forehand long.
Svitolina stated that representing war-torn Ukraine was a significant motivator, but added, “It’s a lot of responsibility, a lot of tension.”
“I attempt to strike an equilibrium as best I can. However, occasionally it may be too much.”
