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A year ago, Ons Jabeur had a photo of the Wimbledon women\u2019s trophy on her phone screen as she chased history.<\/p>\n
She swiftly erased it after missing out on the real thing but on Saturday has another chance when she faces Marketa Vondrousova in the final (14:00 BST).<\/p>\n
The popular Tunisian hopes her third major final proves lucky as she aims to be the first African or Arab woman to win a Grand Slam singles title.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHopefully, I can make history not just for Tunisia but for Africa,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Like last year, sixth seed Jabeur heads into the women\u2019s final as the favourite. The 28-year-old faces Vondrousova, who is ranked at number 42 and is also aiming for her own slice of history by becoming the first unseeded woman to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish.<\/p>\n
Vondrousova, 24, was in London as a tourist with her wrist in a plaster cast when Jabeur lost to Elena Rybakina last year, following the surgery that sidelined her for six months.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just so grateful to be here. It\u2019s crazy that this is happening,\u201d Vondrousova said.<\/p>\n
The Czech was runner-up in the 2019 French Open as a 19-year-old, so like Jabeur \u2013 who lost in the US Open final two months after her Wimbledon disappointment \u2013 has previous Grand Slam final experience to draw on.<\/p>\n
Jabeur going to \u2018learn\u2019 from last year<\/strong><\/p>\n In the Open era, only one player representing an African nation has won a Slam singles title \u2013 South Africa\u2019s Johan Kriek at the 1981 Australian Open. Kriek also won again a year later, although by then he was representing the United States.<\/p>\n As Jabeur seeks to become the first woman from the continent to triumph, she has been motivated by revenge at the All England Club and used that to despatch Rybakina in the quarter-finals.<\/p>\n The Kazakhstani was one of four Grand Slam champions Jabeur has had to beat in a tricky route to the final, having also made it past Australian Open title holder Aryna Sabalenka, two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova and 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu.<\/p>\n She says when it comes to the final, it makes no difference whether you are facing a major champion or not.<\/p>\n \u201cI think a final is a final,\u201d Jabeur said. \u201cWhoever could handle more the emotions, whoever could be more ready on the court, will definitely win that match.\u201d<\/p>\n Jabeur\u2019s run to another major final has come in a stop-start season where she has been hampered by injury and had minor knee surgery.<\/p>\n In typical fashion for a player known as the \u2018Minister of Happiness\u2019 back home, she sees the positives from those troubles and last year\u2019s disappointments.<\/p>\n \u201c[The injuries] teach me how to be very patient and accept whatever happened to me \u2026 because it was out of my control,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, if you tell me you [would] get injured and be in the final of Wimbledon, I would take it.\u201d<\/p>\n Jabeur, whose emotional displays\u00a0have won her many fans,\u00a0is also hoping it will be third time lucky.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to learn a lot from not only Wimbledon\u2019s final but also the US Open final, and give it my best,\u201d she said. \u201cMaybe this year was all about trying two times and getting it right the third time.\u201d<\/p>\n And perhaps to avoid jinxing things, she has revealed this year what is on her phone\u2019s lock screen to motivate her this time round, telling reporters: \u201cYou\u2019re going to know after the final.\u201d<\/p>\n No clothing sponsor yet, but cat sitter is sorted for Vondrousova<\/strong><\/p>\n Vondrousova has come through tough tests in the past two rounds, knocking out American fourth seed Jessica Pegula in the quarter-finals before a two-set win over Elina Svitolina. The latter came in front of a partisan Centre Court crowd, who were emotionally invested in Ukrainian Svitolina\u2019s run that came nine months after having a baby and against the backdrop of war.<\/p>\n She is the latest in a long line of Czech female tennis players to reach Grand Slam finals, with nine major women\u2019s singles finals in the last 10 years \u2013 including Saturday\u2019s match \u2013 featuring players from the country.<\/p>\n But grass is not her best surface and certainly not one on which she would have expected to win a major title.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen it was clay or hard, maybe I would say, yeah maybe it\u2019s possible,\u201d said Vondrousova, who has been flying so far under the tennis radar recently that she no longer has a clothing sponsor.<\/p>\n \u201cBut grass was impossible for me. It\u2019s even crazier that this is happening.\u201d<\/p>\n So unexpected was her run that she told her husband to stay at home in Prague to look after their cat, Frankie.<\/p>\n She has now changed her mind.<\/p>\n \u201cWe texted the cat sitter to come to our home,\u201d she said. \u201cHe [husband] is coming tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"Vondrousova](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/_130382813_final_graphic.png\")
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