Vondrousova warms up for Wimbledon with Berlin title

BERLIN: Marketa Vondrousova ended the run of Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu to land the Berlin WTA title on Sunday and ignite dreams of a second Wimbledon victory.

The Czech, who won Wimbledon in 2023, was pushed hard by Wang, appearing in her first final, but eventually emerged the 7-6 (12/10), 4-6, 6-2 winner. This was Vondrousova’s third success on the WTA tour and it proved she is hitting form at the right moment after a torrid time with injury with Wimbledon starting on Monday week.

The 25-year-old, finalist at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has tumbled down the world rankings to 164 from sixth after months away from the court with a left shoulder injury for which she underwent surgery last year.

“We’ve all worked hard for me to come back,” said Vondrousova, acknowledging the hard work she and her team have put in to get her back firing on all cylinders. Wang broke Vondrousova twice to lead 6-5 in the first set only for the Czech to level at 6-6, taking the tie break 12/10 after saving six set points.

With her serve under pressure she lost the second set before running away with the third as Wang appeared to run out of steam at the end of a loaded week coming through the qualifiers. “We came here hoping to win the first match and here I am. I’m so grateful,” smiled Vondrousova.

This was her first title match since she defeated Ons Jabeur in straight sets at Wimbledon two years ago. Immediate reward for the win will come on Monday when she shoots up inside the top 100 to 73 in the latest WTA world order.

Sunday’s success was the icing on the cake for Vondrousova who stunned world number one and three-time Grand slam winner Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-final. For Wang it was just a step too far after what she had described as a “dream” week on the grass of the German capital including defeats of 2021 Berlin champion Liudmila Samsonova and French Open champion Coco Gauff.