By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, January 19, 2023
A year after her last major appearance, Marketa Vondrousova upset second-ranked Ons Jabeur, 6-1, 5-7, 6-1 to reach the Australian Open third round.
Photo credit: Mark Kolbe/Getty
Minister of Happiness Ons Jabeur is out of the Happy Slam.
World No. 86 Marketa Vondrousova stunned the second-ranked Jabeur 6-1, 5-7, 6-1 in a masterful Australian Open second-round upset that ended after 1 a.m. Melbourne time.
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It is the 2019 Roland Garros finalist's biggest Grand Slam victory, in terms of ranking, in her career and her first Top 10 victory in a major.
The Australian Open second round has been a serious stumbling block for high seeds.
Vondrousova's upset came hours after American Jenson Brooksby toppled second-seeded Casper Ruud leaving the AO without the men's and women's second seeds as well as top-seeded Rafa Nadal, who lost to Mackenzie McDonald in round two.
"I think she just got better in the second set; she played some amazing points," Vondrousova told Jill Craybas in her on-court interview afterward. "I just tried to stay focused and play my game. I'm just very happy to be through. It's always tough to come back after such a long time."
Sidelined for most of the second half of last season after undergoing a second left wrist surgery, Vondrousova was playing her first Grand Slam since her run to the 2022 AO third round.
The left-handed Czech broke in Jabeur's opening service games of the first and last sets and stretched her lead playing with poise and purpose.
"I just started in November. I felt good," Vondrousova said. "I did great practices and I worked on my fitness a lot when I had the wrist [surgery]. I'm just very happy to be back on this level that I can play these matches."
In a late-night clash on Rod Laver Arena, the left-handed Czech carved up a sluggish Jabeur at critical stages and ran down the Tunisian trailblazer's drop shots in a one-hour, 42-minute triumph.
Olympic silver medalist Vondrousova improved to 5-7 against Top-5 opponents, while Jabeur tried to make sense of what went wrong.
Arriving in Australia with high hopes of reaching her third consecutive Grand Slam final, Jabeur seemed to be struggling physically at times and was not nearly as consistent as her Czech opponent. Jabeur nearly doubled Vondrousova's winner output (50 to 24) and looked drained by the defeat as she sat on the floor inside of Rod Laver Arena afterward consoled by her husband.
The US Open and Wimbledon finalist made a push when she took the second set to force a decider. But Vondrousova snuffed out comeback hopes storming to a 5-0 lead in the decider before closing her third straight trip to the Melbourne third round.
It's been a life-changing stretch for Vondrousova, who married long-time partner Stepan Simek last summer.
The wedding took Vondrousova's mind off her wrist woes and at crunch-time today she played with clarity and composure.
"It was amazing it was after the surgery I could focus on that," Vondrousova said. "I didn't think of tennis. I was a bit sad at tournaments when I couldn't play.
"At least I had this wedding. It was amazing."
The woman who grew up looking up to Roger Federer will try to continue her amazing journey.
Next up for Vondrousova is 17-year-old phenom Linda Fruhvirtova in a compelling all-Czech third-round clash.
"I know her. She's a great player," Vondrousova said. "We'll see. We never played. She's a young star. I just can't wait to play again"