Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova conquered China’s qualifier Wang Xinyu on Sunday and required three sets to win the Berlin open title, completing an unlikely run in her first trophy since London won two years ago.
The 25-year-old Czech player fell to 164th in the world after 12 months of injuries, but has played her first final since winning Wimbledon in 2023.
“We were all working really hard to get me back. And we felt like we came here and we were here to win our first match. “So I’m so grateful to you guys that I stand here and I’m so grateful.”
She was forced to work hard for a 7-6 (10), 4-6, 6-2 victory, including saving six set points on a tight first set tiebreak.
“I’m happy to see the full crowd. I really enjoyed tennis week and support,” Vondorsova said. “…I don’t think it’s any better for us here. We were all working really hard.”
Fighting through the qualifying process and having to beat four top 20 players to reach the first Tour Finals, King continued to pose problems with pinpoint accuracy as he repeatedly fired the winners of the baseline.
Vondrousova’s serve looked unbreakable until Wang scored her first breakpoint in the seventh game. However, Vondrousova comes back to take the tiebreak after Wang wasted six set points.
The 23-year-old King showed little nerves, but leveled the match after breaking his opponent once in the second set.
However, Vondrousova, who defeated Australian Open Champion Madison Keys in the first round, won the world’s No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals.
She then played the perfect service game 5-2. Amazing drop shots, a cross-court backhand winner, and a powerful forehand who forced an error by Wang at the first match point.
The King reached her first final by beating former champion Ludmira Samsonova in the semi-finals. Previously, she kicked out Dahlia Kasatokina, Coco Gouf and Paula Badosa after qualifying.
“It was an incredible week for us, and I just keep building the next thing and looking forward to it,” he said, with only 10 wins this year before appearing in the Grass Court Tournament.
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to the report.
