The parallels between Ons Jabeur and Marketa Vondrousova make for an irresistible match-up when they meet in this weekend’s Wimbledon final.
Both possess a well-rounded skill set, magnificent feel on their shots, and ingenuity when exploiting angles on a tennis court.
Both have overcome recent battles with injuries to arrive at this stage of the tournament.
And both have appeared in Grand Slam finals, but are yet to walk away as a champion.
One of them will experience ultimate glory on Saturday.
Many favour Jabeur; she is the higher-ranked of the pair and owns more experience in Grand Slam finals, including here at the All England Club.
Given the path she has traversed to reach her third major final, few players could be considered more deserving of their place here. And given her heartbreaking misses in last year’s Wimbledon and US Open finals, she would be among the most popular of champions.
In Bianca Andreescu, Petra Kvitova, Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka, Jabeur has conquered four successive major champions – three of them from a set down.
The two latest wins were especially impressive, given Rybakina and Sabalenka are Grand Slam titleholders, and Rybkina the defending Wimbledon champion who beat Jabeur in last year’s final.
This was the first of her “revenge” wins; she then avenged her 2021 Wimbledon quarterfinal loss to Sabalenka.
Jabeur’s next foe is not another major champion, but instead world No.42 Vondrousova, the first unseeded woman in Open era history to reach a Wimbledon final.
This ranking is deceptive. The Roland Garros finalist of 2019 peaked at world No.14 that same year, and more recently won a silver medal in singles at the Tokyo Olympic Games of 2021.
She has also won her past two meetings with Jabeur.
“I'm going for my revenge. I didn't win against her this year,” warned Jabeur, who fell to Vondrousova at Indian Wells, and before that, Australian Open 2023.
That loss at Melbourne Park was an injury-affected one. Jabeur was battling a troublesome knee, which eventually required surgery and forced her to miss her beloved Middle East swing. Just as she was recapturing momentum during the clay-court season, she tore her calf in Stuttgart. It ruined her run-up to Roland Garros, where she miraculously made the quarterfinals.
But she subsequently struggled on grass, arriving at Wimbledon having lost three of her past four matches. She has played just 31 matches overall this year, fewer than any other top-10 player.
Considering her interrupted season, it is both improbable, and extraordinary, what she is doing at the All England Club.
“(My injuries) teach me how to be very patient and accept whatever happened to me … because it was out of my control. I was trying my best to be ready for the competition,” Jabeur said.
“If you tell me you get injured and be in the final of Wimbledon, I would take it (smiling).”
Say what?? Wanna see me in the finals?? I SAY YES WIMBLEDON 🔥 🔥 Let’s go!!! pic.twitter.com/eNkKdQuDuK
— Ons Jabeur (@Ons_Jabeur) July 13, 2023
“This year the draw is much tougher. Playing against amazing players that not only play good on any surface, but they play amazing on grass. That gives me more confidence to be ready for the final. Also getting that rhythm of playing great tennis to be ready for the next match.
“I want to make my path worth it, winning (against) all these Grand Slam champions to be in the final.
“I'm going full in, and hopefully this time it will work.”
Vondrousova has experienced plenty of physical setbacks, too.
The 24-year-old Czech lefty has missed, collectively, almost two years of competition due to various injuries and surgeries.
An elbow injury wiped out the second half of her 2016 season. Her first wrist surgery saw her miss the second half of 2019, just after she’d made her breakthrough in Paris. Another wrist surgery forced her to skip three of the four Grand Slam tournaments in 2022.
But she has returned strongly in 2023, winning 30 of her 40 matches, and four over top-10 opponents.
While her progress at Wimbledon may not have gone through four major champions like Jabeur, she has nevertheless carved up four seeds to reach the final – including world No.4 Jessica Pegula after trailing 1-4 in the third set.
In Thursday's semifinals, she played a near-perfect match to end the inspired run of comeback star Elina Svitolina.
“Grass was impossible for me. It's even crazier that this is happening,” said Vondrousova, who before this fortnight had only ever won four main-draw matches on the surface.
“I think (having already been in a major final) can definitely help in tough moments. Also, like, I've been through it. Once I was very young, so I think it was just too much for me back then. (Now) you know what to do. I mean, I'm a bit older now also. I think I'm a bit different person.
“After everything I've been through, two surgeries, it's not always easy to come back. You don't know if you can play at this level and if you can be back at the top and back at these tournaments.
“I just feel like I'm just grateful to be on a court again, to play without pain.”
Thankfully, both she and Jabeur are healthy again, and delighting fans the world over with their compelling runs to the Wimbledon final.
There is a sense of destiny about both their campaigns, and as Vondrousova noted: “Anything can happen in tennis”.
Jabeur felt similarly.
“I'm not sure how she's going to play (her) second Grand Slam final,” Jabeur said of the Czech.
“We’re both hungry to win. Whoever deserves it more will win.”