She dived, balletically, to reach a volley at the net and then fell to the ground in disbelief. Marketa Vondrousova had defied expectations and most predictions to defeat Ons Jabeur in straight sets to become the first unseeded woman to win at Wimbledon. No one had seen it coming. A cat-sitter was found at the last minute so that the Czech’s husband could fly in from Prague to be on Centre Court, just in case the 24-year-old could upset not just the odds but an overwhelming sense that it was her opponent’s date with destiny.
“When it was 40-love, I couldn’t breathe,” Vondrousova said. “I just was thinking to myself, ‘Just be over.’ I was like crazy nervous. It was such a relief when I
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Wimbledon 70 years ago — colourful characters captured in black and white