How Vondroušová poisoned Sabalenkova. You must have laughed, the moderator didn’t believe

Markéta Vondroušová has long needed such a result, as if it were the most effective medicine for broken self-esteem. In Stuttgart, she earned the most valuable win since last year’s triumph at Wimbledon, with a smart game she was able to poison the world number two Arya Sabalenkova.

For the first time since Wimbledon, she was able to reach the semifinals of the tournament. For the first time since Wimbledon, she defeated a player from the world’s top ten. And for the first time since last year’s US Open, she defeated three opponents at one event.

In March, due to the death of her beloved grandfather, Markéta Vondroušová excused herself from almost the entire American Sunshine Double and then started training earlier for the clay part of the season.

In Stuttgart, at a star-studded event, thorough preparation pays off.

After Donna Vekičová and Anastasia Potapová, she also defeated Sabalenko, with whom she had not been able to deal with in the past four mutual duels.

The last time she beat her was six long years ago in Indian Wells, when she was eighteen and the Belarusian was nineteen.

Even now she lost the first set, but in the second she got up as if nothing had happened and began to frustrate the favorite with her specific tennis.

From the statistics, it might seem that Sabalenková defeated herself with a bad performance. After all, she just chopped forty-eight unforced errors. However, it was often about inaccuracies that stemmed from the clever, sometimes even annoying game of the Czech tennis player.

“Vondroušová mixed her patience, awkward returns, deceptive lefty serve and skill. She forced Arya to exaggerate her shots by absorbing her power and forcing her to play low to the knees. A great tactic,” noted a tennis analyst appearing on the X social network under the nickname Vansh .

By the way, Vondroušová herself praised coach Jan Hernych for his excellent tactical plan after the match.

In the more than two-hour battle, she recorded only nineteen errors, and her performance and tennis versatility were highlighted in a post-match interview directly on the court of Stuttgart’s Porsche Arena by the presenter and former successful tennis player Andrea Petkovicová.

“You are one of the few players who can play equally well on clay and on grass. What is your secret? Can you teach us something? Because most of us can’t do both,” Němka Vondroušová laughed.

In response, she recalled that until last year’s Wimbledon she had a desperate balance on the grass surface. “I didn’t know that about myself either,” said the 2019 Roland Garros finalist and silver medalist from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

She called Sabalenková a “terribly difficult opponent”. The aim was said to be to stay in exchanges as long as possible and keep calm in any situation.

At the end of the third set, the score was flowing from one side to the other. But the mentally stronger Czech had the last word.

She took a decisive step towards the triumph when she took Sabalenka’s serve with a clear game at 5:5.

A smile flashed across her face after finishing off a great exchange with a spectacular volley. Although it wasn’t over yet and one game away from victory.

Petkovicová also registered a remarkable moment.

“Normally, I don’t see much emotion in you during the match. But when you converted to 6:5, I saw that you might have laughed a little,” confronted Němka Vondroušová.

“Yes, we played a lot of great exchanges, but this one was probably the most important. I enjoyed it a lot,” answered the winner.

On Saturday, she will fight for her seventh final on the WTA circuit, her opponent will be Australian Open quarter-finalist Marta Kostyukova from Ukraine, who has already defeated two top 10 players in Stuttgart. After the Chinese Chen Ching-wen, she also passed the American Cori Gauff.

Marketa Vondrousova after beating Aryna Sabalenka in Stuttgart:

“It was a very tough match. She’s a great player. I tried to stay in the rallies. She hits very fast so it’s tough to do something. I tried to stay calm in the crucial moments. I think that was the key.” ???????? pic.twitter.com/lEaI9C9Ns5

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) April 19, 2024

2024-04-20 07:32:24
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