Ons Jabeur ought to have been the more-prepared participant for the Wimbledon girls’s singles remaining.
She’d performed within the decider the 12 months earlier than and been the world’s finest participant on grass since 2021.
But from the warm-up to the ultimate level the heavy favorite allowed nerves to price her one other probability at her first grand slam as Marketa Vondrousova created historical past with a 6-4 6-4 win.
In weird scenes, Jabeur was kicked off centre court docket throughout her pre-match hit after coming into the court docket in a black coaching high.
All England Tennis Club guidelines state “competitors must be dressed in suitable tennis attire that is almost entirely white and this applies from the point at which the player enters the court surround” however Jabeur appeared to overlook.
“Ons was wearing all black on Centre Court and they kicked her off,” three-time Wimbledon singles champion Chris Evert advised the BBC.
“They kicked her off and made her put on white clothes.
“At Wimbledon you have to wear white! Even in the final of Wimbledon. I thought that was interesting.”
It led to frustration from followers. “How in the world did Jabeur’s team allow her to go out wearing black? After all, this is her second time being in the final? This kind of interruption or departure from her routine can’t have helped,” one wrote.
“This women’s final is another, perfect example of how expectations dominate tennis,” added one other. “Ons Jabeur was expected to win, by everyone including herself probably (then) wears black to the warm up (and) shows up 10 minutes early. Pressure makes your legs freeze and mind go nuts. Unreal.”
Jabeur couldn’t have requested for a greater opponent as she tried to atone for final 12 months’s defeat in opposition to Elena Rybakina.
Vondrousova entered this grass court docket season with a 2-10 report on the floor and had one solitary win from her 4 earlier appearances at Wimbledon.
So surprising was her run that she advised her husband Stepan Simek to remain at house in Prague to take care of their cat Frankie till the ultimate, when a pet sitter was discovered to permit her companion to make the journey to Wimbledon.
Jabeur led 2-0 and 4-2 within the first set on Saturday earlier than Vondrousova hit again to develop into the lowest-ranked and first unseeded lady to win Wimbledon.
“I think I’m gonna have some beer … it was an exhausting two weeks,” she mentioned.
The Tunisian’s 15 unforced errors within the first set had been key because the Czech left-hander dedicated a miserly six.
Jabeur was 3-1 forward within the second set however nonetheless couldn’t convert the benefit as Vondrousova, who missed final 12 months’s Wimbledon as a consequence of wrist surgical procedure, mounted one other comeback.
“It’s painful because you feel so close to achieving something that you want, and actually back to square one,” added Jabeur.
“Again, I just try to get rid of these negative thoughts and continue being positive.”
Nick Kyrgios defied Wimbledon’s guidelines final season, carrying a pink Nike cap after matches on his approach to ending runner as much as Novak Djokovic.
But girls’s gamers rejoiced final season when Wimbledon introduced it was lastly permitting feminine gamers to put on darkish undergarments.
It got here after gamers together with Australia’s Daria Saville revealed she needed to skip durations with a view to take part within the occasion.
“It’s true,” Saville mentioned. “I had to skip my period around Wimbledon, for the reason that I didn’t want to worry about bleeding through, as we already have enough other stress.”
– with employees writers, AFP
Source: www.news.com.au
