LONDON :For a player who grew up on the clay courts of the Czech Republic, Marketa Vondrousova has a surprisingly special relationship with the lawns and now she is swinging freely without pain, few will fancy facing her at Wimbledon.
The 26-year-old Vondrousova claimed the title in stunning fashion two years ago, becoming the first unseeded woman to do so in the professional era by beating Ons Jabeur in the final.
Since then she has been blighted by a shoulder injury that had her considering her future in the sport.
But in the build-up to Wimbledon she won the grasscourt title in Berlin, her first title since winning at the All England Club, and on Monday she took out American 32nd seed McCartney Kessler 6-1 7-6(3) to set up an enticing second-round clash with British number one Emma Raducanu.
It is a stark contrast to 12 months ago when she opened Centre Court play on the first Tuesday as defending champion but lost to Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.
Talking about the journey she has been on since lifting the trophy on Centre Court, left-hander Vondrousova said coming back from surgery had been a tough battle.
“I didn’t play for such a long time. I had surgery here last year. It was a tough battle. I was injured. I got injured in Berlin (last year), so it was kind of like so-so,” she said.
“I’m just really trying to enjoy every match, because you know, it really looked bad with my shoulder a couple of months ago, so I didn’t even know if I can be here again on the court.
“Now I take it match by match, and I’m just trying to really enjoy everything here and grateful to be back.”
Next up for Vondrousova is British favourite Raducanu, whose Grand Slam breakthrough in 2021 was even more surprising, winning the U.S. Open as a teenaged qualifier.
Raducanu has also suffered with injuries since that Flushing Meadows fairytale, although her form is returning.
Unlike Vondrousova, however, Raducanu has had to live life in an unforgiving spotlight.
“I feel like she had it way worse because she is from bigger country. She had crazy pressure. I feel like she has it in every tournament all the time,” Vondrousova said when asked if she could relate to Raducanu’s journey since fame arrived.
“I feel like she’s getting better and better with it, but yeah, overall it must have been crazy for her to live all of that.”
Vondrousova lost to Raducanu at Wimbledon in 2021, shortly before the Briton’s New York run. But she did get the better of the British player in Abu Dhabi this year.
The Czech, who sports a series of tattoos, said grass has now become one of her favourite surfaces, not surprisingly as two of her three titles have been on the turf.
“A couple of years ago something clicked, and I feel great on grass,” she said.
