The 24-year-old from the Czech Republic grew to become the primary unseeded participant to win at Wimbledon.
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Marketa Vondrousova is aware of she has a goal on her again as she begins play within the Nationwide Financial institution Open on the Nationwide Tennis Centre in Montreal.
“There will probably be extra expectations on me to win after Wimbledon, stated the 24-year-old Czech, who shed her reputations as perennial runner-up when she defeated Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-4 within the closing of the distinguished grass court docket occasion.
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Vondrousova grew to become the primary unseeded participant to win the Grand Slam match, defeating 4 seeded gamers for her first match win since she triumphed at Biel, Switzerland, as a 17-year-old WTA Tour rookie.
Vondrousova nearly didn’t make it to the ultimate at Wimbledon. Within the quarter-finals, she trailed Jessice Pegula 1-4 within the deciding third set and the American had a break level for a 5-1 lead. Vondrousova saved that time and received 5 consecutive video games for the victory.
Vondrousova had one other comeback within the closing. Jabeur broke her at like to take a 4-2 lead within the first set, however Vondrousova received 16 of the subsequent 18 factors to win the set and had the one break within the second set.
When she was requested Friday when she knew she might win at Wimbledon, she replied: “After I was up 6-4, 5-4 within the closing.”
Wimbledon was Vondrousova’s second Grand Slam closing and it went higher than the 2020 French Open, when a 19-year-old Vondrousova received solely 4 video games in opposition to Ash Barty.
Regardless of the one-sided loss, most consultants noticed a shiny future for Vondrousova, who mixed highly effective floor strokes with a robust tactical sport. However she skilled issues along with her left wrist and she or he was out of motion for six months final 12 months whereas recovering from a second operation. She was ranked No. 44 going into Wimbledon and arrived in Montreal as a career-high No. 10. She is seeded ninth right here and can play her first-round match in opposition to Mayar Sherif of Egypt.
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Qualifying play started Saturday and a younger Canadian supplied some drama within the opening match on centre court docket.
Marina Stakusic, an 18-year-old from Mississauga who’s No. 414, went toe-to-toe and saved two match factors earlier than shedding to American Alycia Parks 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Parks, who’s No. 48, and Venus Williams share the document for the quickest server on the U.S. Open (129 miles an hour), however the serve was extra of a hindrance for Parks on Saturday. She had 10 aces, but in addition served up 17 double faults, together with two on break factors.
“I wasn’t proud of the end result, however I’m proud of the way in which I performed as a result of I’ve been off since January with a knee damage and this fashion solely my second match again,” Stakusic stated. “I knew she had a giant serve and it was robust to return, however the match confirmed I can play with these prime gamers. There have been instances I might sense that I pissed off her, however there have been instances after I was getting pissed off, too.”
Westmount’s Eugenie Bouchard, who is constant her comeback from shoulder surgical procedure, confirmed solely transient glimpses of the shape that introduced her to a No. 5 rating in 2014 and she or he ran out of fuel within the closing set and misplaced to American Danielle Collins 6-1, 1-6, 6-1.
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Bouchard, who was making her first look within the Canadian Open since 2019, has a 4-13 lifetime document within the occasion.
Canadiens went 0-for-6 in qualifying, however two different Canadians took their opponents to a 3rd set. Mia Kupres, an Edmonton teen who attends Texas A and M on a tennis scholarship, misplaced to Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 2-6, 6-2, 6-0, and American Peyton Stearns beat Katherine Sebov of Toronto 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Carol Zhao of Richmond Hill, Ont., certified for the primary draw at Wimbledon earlier this 12 months, however the 28-year-old Stanford grad was no match for Spaniard Cristina Bucsa, shedding 6-3, 6-3.
Leylah Fernandez’s youthful sister, Bianca, misplaced to Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine 6-1, 6-3.
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