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Marketa Vondrousova: ‘I am not the underdog anymore. I need to get utilized to that’

ByRomeo Minalane

Aug 27, 2023
Marketa Vondrousova: ‘I am not the underdog anymore. I need to get utilized to that’

In the early days of the yard season this June, Marketa Vondrousova and her doubles partner for the week, her Czech compatriot Katerina Siniakova, browsed their method to the last in Berlin. At that point, Vondrousova’s record in finals, throughout songs and doubles alike, was not precisely perfect. Their ultimate three-set defeat marked her seventh straight loss when it matters most. In the consequences, not even her mom, Jindriska, might conceal her aggravation. “They came for the finals and she stated, like: ‘I do not wish to be 2nd all the time,'” states Vondrousova, chuckling, as she remembers the discussion with her mom. “I resembled: ‘OK, it’s great even to be in a last. Begin, Mum!’ And she’s like: ‘Yeah, however I do not wish to be 2nd all the time.'” A couple of weeks later on, the 24-year-old objected to a totally various kind of clincher: the Wimbledon songs last. In the most extreme minute of her profession, Vondrousova’s discussion with her mom crossed her mind and offered some levity to assist serve for the title versus Ons Jabeur. Her course from the little Czech town of Sokolov to the Wimbledon champ’s supper has actually had its troubles. Unlike a number of her peers, tennis was at first just a pastime and she played 2 or 3 times a week in her house town, while likewise taking a two-hour drive to Prague with her grandpa weekly to practice. By the age of 15, however, she was currently among the most appealing children in the Czech Republic and relocated to Prague alone to pursue her dreams. Prior to her 16th birthday, she had actually ended up being the No 1 junior worldwide. Her moms and dads were not able to fund the excessive costs of her profession however Vondrousova’s junior success drew in attention. When she had to do with 14, her moms and dads signed a contract with a supervisor, Vladimir Houdek, which, she states, offered her with financial backing in return for a portion of her future profits: “My moms and dads did sign it due to the fact that it was a great deal of cash to take into tennis and they were working so we didn’t have much cash for tennis, coaches and things. We had to sign it.” The agreement, Vondrousova notes, supplied her the financing she required to make it on the primary trip. After her effective junior profession, she transitioned on to the trip in impressive style by winning her very first WTA title in Biel, just her 2nd WTA primary draw occasion, from certifying. Those early choices came at an expense. At 18, she had actually wearied of her scenario. Vondrousova and her household chose to purchase Houdek out of his agreement. “I chose I wished to end it so I needed to purchase him [out] for the agreement to complete. It was insane times. I believe I did an excellent thing due to the fact that he pressed me so much about competitions and whatever. Then it was a bit demanding and I could not do what, you understand, what I desired. I feel like it was an excellent option.” Vondrousova states the point of contention with Houdek was the pressure she felt he put her under to contend in competitions, which she declares suggested running the risk of injury. Houdek has actually formerly rejected her claims and explained her very first public talk about the split as “rubbish and outright lies”. Marketa Vondrousova states she can not conceal from the spotlight now she is a grand slam champ. Photo: Larry Marano/ShutterstockIn 2018, Vondrousova settled the agreement with nearly all the cash she had actually built up in her profession. She states she got to the United States Open that year with sufficient cash to last just till completion of the season, unpredictable about what would take place next. In some way, she made it all the method to the 4th round, making $266,000 in without a doubt her finest grand slam revealing at that point. “I had cash till the [end of the] season,” states Vondrousova. “I played 4th round at the United States Open that year. That assisted me a lot. I believe if I were to lose [in] the preliminary, it was going to be extremely difficult. I didn’t believe about it.” A year later on, a dazzling, breakout spring ended with her reaching her very first grand slam last at the 2019 French Open. The most jubilant duration of her profession at that point, however, likewise ended up being grim. There was initially the trouble of handling her one-sided loss to Ash Barty as her world altered over night and expectations increased. “It was such an excellent competition and I didn’t even enjoy it,” she states. “So I stated to myself if this took place once again, I would simply wish to enjoy it a lot due to the fact that I was 19 and I played a last so it was insane, however I feel I simply put a lot pressure on me after and likewise individuals simply anticipate me to win whatever and it was type of insane time.” It was likewise spoiled by disaster. Throughout her run, Vondrousova’s long time sweetheart, Stepan Simek, now her spouse, discovered that his daddy had actually passed away. Simek, who had actually remained in the Czech Republic at the start of the occasion, had actually tried to keep the news from her as she advanced through the rounds. Each time she asked him to join her in Paris, he created reasons for why he could not. Ultimately, however, he needed to inform her the fact. avoid previous newsletter promotionafter newsletter promo “I informed him: ‘You need to come, you need to be here.’ And he resembled: ‘I can’t go.’ No, I resembled: ‘What’s taken place and what’s occurring?’ He informed me this so it was kind of like the happiest times and then the saddest times. Whatever took place.” Her subsequent seasons were rough. As she attempted to follow up her very first grand slam last, Vondrousova had surgical treatment that required her out for the rest of 2019; she took pleasure in a dazzling go to the 2020 Olympic last in Tokyo, which after her experience in Paris she was figured out to enjoy even while playing in front of an empty arena; she then had another wrist operation in 2022, her self-confidence capitulating in between layoffs. If she might stay healthy, it appeared just a matter of time prior to Vondrousova put her video game together and rebounded. Not on lawn. Lawn was, in her words, difficult. She had actually begun the grass-court season in 2023 with a 2-10 primary draw record on the surface area. “I didn’t play excellent on yard prior to so I seemed like: ‘Let’s attempt and I’ll play some matches without tension due to the fact that I do not care about turf,'” she chuckles. “But then I was winning …” Marketa Vondrousova raises the Wimbledon prize in July; lawn had actually been a surface area she referred to as difficult. Photo: Tom Jenkins/The ObserverThe secret to her success, however, is something that she can not perhaps reproduce. She entered into Wimbledon without any expectations and stunned herself each action of the method. It was not till match point, she states, that she really believed she might win the title. Now she is a grand slam champ and a top-10 gamer, there will be no more concealing from the spotlight. In order to win once again, she needs to find out how to do so with all eyes on her and expectations high. “I’m not the underdog anymore,” she states. “I need to get utilized to that.” Far, Vondrousova has actually managed herself well. After winning a number of matches in Canada, she reached the quarter-finals in Cincinnati, where she lost to the world No 1, Iga Swiatek, after serving for the very first set. She is keeping her expectations low once again. “I seem like it’s an advantage to have the pressure that you are now leading 10,” she states. “But now I’m taking it match by match due to the fact that I seem like everybody is going to wish to beat you and they’re going to play some excellent shots due to the fact that they have absolutely nothing to lose now. You need to take that and simply concentrate on every match.”

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