Fears that a sobering will come to North American concrete are proving to be odd. Czech tennis player Markéta Vondroušová continues exactly where she left off at Wimbledon. The newly minted grass-court Grand Slam champion is yet to drop a set at a major in Montreal and her reputation continues to grow. She mastered the expected hit against Caroline Wozniacki with ease, now the next one is coming.
Editing of Markéta Vondroušová’s match with Caroline Wozniacka at the tournament in Montreal | Video: Associated Press
Vondroušová’s winning streak is now nine matches, the world number 10 confirms her great potential even in her first tournament after the Wimbledon triumph.
In Montreal, she managed in two sets the Egyptian Majar Sharif and the Danish Caroline Wozniacki, the former world number one who returned to tennis after three and a half years.
At the prestigious event of the second highest category of the WTA 1000, the Czech star is already in the round of 16.
“Markéta just isn’t losing now. This match was a joy to watch. Markéta doesn’t always get recognition, but don’t be mistaken, she has a truckload of talent,” The Tennis Letter magazine enthusiastically evaluated Vondroušová’s victory over Wozniacki.
While it wasn’t the same in the first round and the error-prone Czech advanced mainly thanks to the poor performance of her opponent, in the second she was already showing off her much-admired technical feats.
In a duel of an above-standard level, she already led 6:2 and 3:0 over the champion of the Australian Open from 2018, but then she chose a weak moment.
She lost four games in a row, but returned to successful game patterns in time and deservedly advanced to the top sixteen.
Especially her perfect lobs were flying around social networks. Wozniacki wanted to eliminate one of them with a desperate attempt at a tweener, at which she had to laugh self-deprecatingly.
In the match, it was clear that the thirty-three-year-old Dane, after a long break, was not physically enough for the excellently moving Vondroušová. Errors also stemmed from this, the unforced ones were chopped by Wozniacka 41.
“It’s a huge number, but Vondrousa’s defensive skills and her ability to use the entire court deserve credit,” said Christopher Clarey, tennis reporter for the New York Times.
Specialized website Tennis Up to Date described the match as “electrifying”.
“The reigning Wimbledon champion excelled in the decisive moments, Wozniacka could not match her game dominance,” he praised the Czech tennis player.
She, in turn, paused over the opponent’s unusual comeback. “She is playing really amazing after such a long break. She is a great player and this was a very tough fight until the last ball. Hats off to her,” she said.
As soon as she finished one closely watched hit, Vondroušová is preparing for another attractive battle. In the round of 16 on Thursday, she will challenge another top ten player in the world, the young American Coco Gauff.
The 19-year-old native of Atlanta is also putting beads on the winning streak, which is now five matches in a row without losing a single set. Gauff dominated the previous tournament in Washington and seems to have brought remarkable form to the “home” concrete.
Vondroušová has met the American sensation only once on the circuit. Two years ago in Dubai, she was defeated by the “canary”: 6:3, 0:6, 4:6.
“It will be a difficult duel. She is currently doing an excellent job. We will see,” said the twenty-four-year-old Czech, who will replace compatriot Karolína Muchová on Montreal’s center court on Thursday. After her fight with world number one Iga Šwiateková, she will go to battle against Gauffová. The program starts at 18:30 CET.
