Sport can be horribly cruel. On the biggest occasions, it is a matter of nerve. And when nerves fail, as they did most spectacularly for Ons Jabeur on Centre Court at Wimbledon on Saturday, it can be excruciating.
As Marketa Vondrousova accepted the trophy after collecting her first grand slam title, becoming the first woman to win unseeded and emulating Boris Becker in the 1985 men’s singles, she took in the applause, led by the watching Martina Navratilova, the greatest Czech-born player, and Jan Kodes, the men’s champion here 50 years ago. This was her moment. Jabeur had expected it to be hers.
Wimbledon has seen nerves before, most famously when the late Jana Novotna froze in sight of beating Steffi Graf in the 1993 final. Tension hit Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals of the French Open last month, manifesting itself in cramp as he was beaten by Novak Djokovic, having been the favourite in many people’s eyes.
Jabeur, who has carried the hopes of a nation and a continent on her shoulders with pride and with brilliance over the years, was widely expected to win. It was simply too much to handle.
Twelve months ago she won the first set against Elena Rybakina before the strain began to show, eventually rendering her helpless. On Saturday, having gained revenge against Rybakina in the quarter-finals and beaten the world No 2, Aryna Sabalenka, in the semis, it it was meant to be her day, but she was unable to play her game, beaten by an opponent who held hers as she completed the biggest win of her life.
Vondrousova knew what Jabeur was going through, having won four games in her previous grand slam final, at the 2019 French Open, when she could not cope with the occasion. This time, it was Jabeur whose feet stopped moving, whose arms stopped extending, whose intensity dropped. Having reached the final here and at the US Open last year, she had the experience and the crowd were desperate for her to win. She was desperate, too. Maybe too much.
With the roof closed, somewhat controversially, owing to a prediction of high winds, there were no elements to interrupt their natural, highly elegant flow. These two play tennis for the connoisseur; slice, drop shots, angles, lobs, shape on the ball and an emphasis on tactical nous instead of pure brute force.
Initially it seemed as if Jabeur was in the mood to exorcise the demons of last year, breaking Vondrousova in the second game, showing off her style with a smash that carved away from her opponent. But the tension was palpable even then and when she missed a forehand in the next game, her hands cramped too close to her body, she slapped her thighs repeatedly, trying to shake loose.
When she was young, Jabeur used to be called “Roger Federer” by her colleagues for her style on the court and her ability to play any shot she wanted. Tellingly, she did not hit a single drop shot of note until she attempted two in the fourth game. Usually such a key feature of her shot-book, she lost both and could not take any of her four break points as Vondrousova levelled.
Still, Jabeur broke again as she led 4-2 but leading almost made the nerves worse. Two mistakes and a good Vondrousova return set up the break back and from then on the rest of the set had Jabeur missing shot after shot, even when she had done all the hard work earlier in the point. After losing the first set, she went for a bathroom break, hoping, perhaps, to find inspiration from a chat in front of the mirror, just as Andy Murray did at the US Open in 2012 when he won his first grand slam.
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After being broken in the first game of the second, it looked again as if the tide was turning with Jabeur firing a brilliant backhand pass on her way to breaking back. Hitting more freely, she led 3-1 but the nerves would not let her go for long. When Vondrousova broke back, Jabeur yelled at her box. She led 4-3 but dumped a forehand in the net in the ninth game to give Vondrousova the chance to serve it out. Closing matches has never been easy for the Czech but Jabeur was gone.
Winning Wimbledon is not meant to be easy. Few people win their first grand slam with ease. For Jabeur, this will be tough to take. Her every move is cheered from home, from the fans who travel to her matches, from a nation that wants her to succeed just as much as she does. Universally loved on the tour, her pain flowed through her words after the match.
This time last year, Vondrousova had her wrist in a cast. A year on, she is a deserving grand slam champion. How Jabeur responds to this will be a huge test of her character. In time, perhaps a word from Murray or Kim Clijsters, who lost their first four slam finals, may help, along with the realisation that she beat four former grand slam winners on the way to a second straight Wimbledon final.
As she said: “Thank you to my team for always believing in me, we’re going to make it one day. I promise you.”