Marketa Vondrousova shatters Elina Svitlolina’s Wimbledon dream, makes historical past

The narrative at Wimbledon had been all about Elina Svitolina’s return from maternity depart and her battle to provide the folks of Ukraine one thing to cheer about as she fulfilled a dream.

Marketa Vondrousova shattered that on Thursday with a 6-3, 6-3 semifinal rout.

And in doing so she wrote the newest chapter in her personal redemption story as she turned the primary unseeded girl in tennis’s Open Period and first since Billie Jean King in 1963 to make the ultimate.

King would go on to lose that remaining to Margaret Court docket.

Sixty years of historical past apart, for the Czech left-hander the semifinal end result represented her personal comeback to the highest.

After the 2019 French Open, the place she misplaced the ultimate to Australia’s Ash Barty, the then 19-year-old had appeared to announce herself to the tennis world, however accidents quickly adopted.

Most notably to her left wrist. She first suffered an damage to it at Wimbledon that yr and a number of surgical procedures adopted.

“I did not play for six months final yr and also you by no means know should you might be at that degree once more. I am simply so grateful to be right here and to be wholesome and play tennis once more,” she mentioned.

So much can change in a yr — and towards an errant Svitolina, Vondrousova was all the time answerable for the match.

Admittedly it wasn’t prime quality as each gamers struggled with nerves however when Vondrousova broke for a 4-3 lead within the opening set, she barely seemed again.

As Svitolina buckled underneath the strain in her third grand slam semifinal, Vondrousova blasted out to a 6-3, 4-0 lead earlier than her nerves kicked in.

Svitiolina saved 5 sport factors to get it again to 4-1, then 4-3 earlier than the Czech steadied and booked her place in a second grand slam remaining.