By Christian Radnedge
LONDON (Reuters) – Having come from 4-1 down in the deciding set to win her Wimbledon quarter-final on Tuesday, many would have thought Marketa Vondrousova had benefited from some useful coaching insight in the locker room during a rain delay.
Instead, it was a pep talk down the phone from her husband as the Court One roof was closed that helped the Czech claw back her match against American Jessica Pegula and seal her place in the semi-finals.
The unseeded 24-year-old won the first set but had lost the second in a topsy-turvy encounter on Tuesday and having gone a break down in the third set when play was paused, needed some words of encouragement.
“I actually didn’t see my coach. I was alone in the waiting room. I chatted a bit with my husband. We talked on the phone. That was it. It was a quick break, so I didn’t do much,” she told a press conference.
“He just said, ‘Try to fight. You are playing good. You are playing a great match’. Yeah, that was it. I think the break helped, actually. It was good,” she added.
Vondrousova, ranked 42 in the world, has beaten four seeded players on the way to her first Grand Slam semi-final appearance at Wimbledon, having never moved past the second round before this year.
She will face Elina Svitolina in the last four. But despite the Ukrainian coming into the tournament as a wildcard having only recently returned to the Tour after giving birth, Vondrousova said it would be like facing another top-ranked player.
“She’s a wild card, but she’s playing like a top-10 player,” Vondrousova said of Svitolina, who overcame world number one Iga Swiatek in their quarter-final clash on Centre Court.
“It’s no difference for me. I think in semi-finals you have to be ready for everything… she’s a great player. She’s playing so good. I think nothing changes if she’s seeded or she is a wildcard. For me, it’s the same thing.”
Vondrousova will play Svitolina on Thursday at the All England Club in what will be their sixth meeting, the Ukrainian having won three but the Czech the last two.
However, Vondrousova’s husband will not be there as he has more pressing issues to deal with back home in Prague.
“He has to work. He has to take care of our cat. He has to stay home,” she said, laughing.
(Reporting by Christian Radnedge; Editing by Toby Davis)
