Marketa Vondrousova finds she treads a fine line keeping expectations of herself in check.
Following her nerve-racked defeat in a maiden Grand Slam final to Ash Barty at Roland Garros in 2019 as a green teenager, the Czech’s ice-cool crowning moment finally came in last year’s Wimbledon decider.
It was reward for her patience and perseverance through years of injury woes and form struggles.
Understated and quietly assured, Vondrousova found the key to staying grounded through persistent setbacks was the same either side of her career-defining triumph at the All England Club last July.
“I have close friendships with coaches and everything, and it's like a small circle that we just stay in,” the 24-year-old told ausopen.com.
“We just keep the same things, the same practice and of course you win a Grand Slam, but you want to do more. You love tennis and you want to enjoy it, so I don't want to change as a person.”
The Czech’s athletic ability had been obvious since childhood.
Her mother was a top volleyballer for SK Slavia Prague while her grandfather, Frantisek Frk, was the then-Czechoslovakian pentathlon champion in 1935.
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Plagued by multiple wrist and elbow injuries and subsequent surgeries since turning professional in 2017, Vondrousova lost almost two years of her playing career, which only compounded frustrations.
Juggling internal pressure to perform when the opportunities eventually arose became crucial.
Before her 6-4 6-4 triumph over sixth seed Ons Jabeur at Wimbledon, Vondrousova’s only other tour-level title came at a WTA 250 event in Biel six years prior.
She had not featured in a final since 2021 when she stunned Naomi Osaka and Elina Svitolina en route to the Tokyo Olympics final, a match in which she succumbed to Belinda Bencic.
“After that loss to Ash I was really sad about it. I was crying so much, but it was an amazing achievement,” Vondrousova said. “I was 19, you know, I played a final in Paris but I didn't enjoy it that much.
“Then I said to myself, ‘If this happens again you have to enjoy it even if you're going to lose’. I played the final in Olympics, and I was actually very happy after that final because I wanted to enjoy that.
“I think when we went into the Wimbledon final, I just saw Ons was very nervous and thought, ‘I don't want to be like that’. I was actually enjoying the match so much because I thought about that final in Paris and how much I was struggling. Ash was playing so good and I didn't enjoy it any minute. I think that changed so much.”
The first unseeded woman in the Open era to succeed at the All England Club, Vondrousova only wanted more.
Her hopes after defeating American Peyton Stearns in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows were understandably high, considering the only two times she had passed the round of 16 in 22 major appearances she reached the final or won the trophy.
“For me I would say US Open was very tough after Wimbledon because I wanted to win back-to-back majors and it's very much a lot of pressure,” she said of her campaign, which ended against Madison Keys in the quarterfinals.
“But I feel like you get used to it a bit. You want to win always, so you just put the pressure on yourself again, but also, like, the outside is going to put more pressure on you and just watch you more, so I don't want to think about it as much and just play some good matches in Melbourne.”
One subtle change that became apparent during her Flushing Meadows run was the addition of a six-digit tattoo on her right shoulder.
Despite concerns her coach, Jan Hernych, would go back on his word to have the same numbers inked, Vondrousova confirmed the deal was upheld.
“That's the matching tattoo I got with my coach, the date of the final at Wimbledon,” she said.
If a second major trophy from this year’s Australian Open to complement her replica Venus Rosewater Dish ensued, more ink was on the cards.
“Of course, we would do another tattoo if we add another Grand Slam," she said.