By Kenny Burgess
The stage is set for the 2023 Wimbledon Wimbledon Finals and we have quite an interesting matchup. Ons Jabeur is searching for her first career Grand Slam title after falling in the finals last year. Jabeur enters as the heavy favorite at -210 against the unseeded Marketa Vondrousova. The underdog at +170, Vondrousova is the first-ever unseeded player to reach the Wimbledon Final in the Open Era.
Jabeur has had a tough road to the finals, having had to beat three top-10 seeds in Petra Kvitova, Aryna Sabalenka, and Elena Rybakina. This will be Jabeur’s fourth matchup with an unseeded opponent in the tournament and it will be her seventh career matchup with Vondrousova, who also had her fair share of impressive wins on the way to the final, defeating Jessica Pegula, Marie Bouzkova, and Donna Vekic, all who were ranked inside of the top 32. Vondrousova will have her hands full as the underdog, but we know from her previous matches with Jabeur that she has a fighting chance.
At first glance, some might think that this match will be a cakewalk for Jabeur against the unranked Vondrousova, but the two have split their previous six meetings. Additionally, Vondrousova has beaten Jabeur in her last two matches at the Australian Open and the Indian Wells. Looking back, it’s important to know Jabeur has been hurt more than once this year, and the Indian Wells match was the first one she competed in after a two-month injury layoff. Jabeur did win the only meeting on grass between the two, which the Wimbledon Final will be played on. Jabeur took care of Vondrousova in straight sets at Eastbourne in 2021 and defeated her on the clay in Stuttgart in 2022.
This is the true David vs. Goliath matchup. In the end, only one will take home their first Grand Slam Title. Jabeur will definitely be motivated after falling in the final last year and it could be the edge she needs to push her over the top. If anyone knows how to beat Jabeur, however, it’s Vondrousova.
Photo credit: Wimbledon’s Instagram
