Last year’s runner-up Ons Jabeur takes on unseeded Czech Marketa Vondrousova in the final of The Championships Wimbledon 2023 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) in London on Saturday.
The match is scheduled to be the first one on the Centre Court on the 13th day of this year’s edition.
When and where to watch?
Sixth-seeded Tunisian Jabeur enters her second straight final at the grass Major after three wins over Top-10 players, who had previously beaten her at this tournament. She defeated two-time winner Petra Kvitova 6-0, 6-3 in the round of 16, avenging the first-round loss from 2019.
She next took down defending champion Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals. The third-seeded Kazakh had beaten Jabeur in the 2022 final, stopping her from becoming the first-ever African woman to win a Major. On Wednesday, Jabeur lost the opening set 6-7(5) but roared back to take the second 6-4 before thrashing her opponent 6-1 in the decider.
In the semifinals on Thursday, Jabeur again came from a set down to beat World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3. Sabalenka had beaten her in the quarterfinals two years ago.
Jabeur, who also reached the US Open final in 2022, has one of the best drop shots on the WTA Tour. Her flat forehand shots also become a big weapon on grass.
Vondrousova is the first unseeded woman to reach the Wimbledon final and her path hasn’t been easy since she had to get past players such as Veronika Kudermetova, Donna Vekic and Marie Bouzkova. In the quarterfinals, she came from 1-4 down in the deciding set to knock out fourth-seeded American Jessica Pegula before defeating Ukrainian wildcard Elina Svitolina in straight sets in the last-four clash.
The 24-year-old left-hander will appear in her second Grand Slam final. She lost to now retired Ash Barty in the 2019 French Open final and had never made a deep run at the Major again till now.
Jabeur would become the first Arab and African woman to win a Major by beating Vondrousova. On the other hand, Vondrousova is looking to become the first unseeded women’s singles champion at Wimbledon.
Head-to-head record
Played: 6 | Jabeur: 3 | Vondrousova: 3
The head-to-head record between Jabeur and Vondrousova stands at 3-3. The two players have faced each other only once on grass - in the opening round of the WTA event in Eastbourne in 2021 which Jabeur won in straight sets.
| YEAR | TOURNAMENT | ROUND | WINNER | SCORE |
| 2023 | INDIAN WELLS MASTERS | THIRD ROUND | VONDROUSOVA | 7-6(5), 6-4 |
| 2023 | AUSTRALIAN OPEN | SECOND ROUND | VONDROUSOVA | 6-1, 5-7, 6-1 |
| 2022 | STUTTGART | FIRST ROUND | JABEUR | 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 |
| 2021 | EASTBOURNE | FIRST ROUND | JABEUR | 6-3, 7-6(4) |
| 2016 | SUNRISE | SECOND ROUND | JABEUR | 6-3, 6-3 |
| 2015 | PRAGUE | QUARTERFINAL | VONDROUSOVA |
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