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Markéta Vondroušová is through to the German Open finals after defeating World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday afternoon. The milestone win takes Vondroušová to her first tournament final since Wimbledon 2023, where she won the title after toppling Ons Jabeur in straight sets.
Shoulder injuries sidelined Vondroušová following her victory, and a surgery on her shoulder in 2024 left her questioning whether she would be able to return to tennis.
She finally made her way back to the tour at the start of the 2025 season in Adelaide, where she overcame Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova before falling to Diana Shnaider.
Since her return, she's played in a few major tournaments, making the quarterfinals in Abu Dhabi and the third round at Roland Garros. However, her breakthrough came in Berlin, where she is currently on a four-match win streak.
"I didn't play for a long time," said Vondroušová in her on-court interview. "I'm just happy to be back healthy and so grateful to play these matches. When I saw the field here, I was like, 'OK, let's just try to win the first round,' and then, you know, now this is happening."
Vondroušová opened her German Open campaign with a straight-set upset over seventh seed Madison Keys despite landing 53% of her first serves and hitting four double faults. She then overcame Shnaider in a tightly contested three-setter.
Both women struggled to convert their break points; however, Vondroušová edged out the Russian with three service breaks compared to Shnaider's one in the third set.
The quarterfinals brought a 2023 Wimbledon final rematch with the same result as Vondroušová bested Jabeur in straight sets. It was a similar story during the semifinal match against Sabalenka, although it started shakier than perhaps either woman wanted.
Both saved break points in their opening service games, although Vondroušová converted her second break point the moment she earned it at 1-1. Vondroušová broke again to take the lead 4-2, sealing the first set and riding that confidence into the second.
It appeared as if Sabalenka still had a bit of fight in her after breaking Vondroušová for a 2-0 lead, but the Czech broke right back. Vondroušová's 12 unforced errors compared to Sabalenka's 30 proved to be the difference, as seen at 4-4 when back-to-back unforced errors from Sabalenka gave Vondroušová the break.
Vondroušová went on to save three break points at 5-4, playing offense rather than defense to rally from behind and defeat Sabalenka in straight sets.
"I felt like I was the underdog yesterday, today also," Vondroušová said. "Enjoying the full stadium. It was amazing to play here, and it was a great match.
Vondroušová will face Wang Xinyu in the finals this afternoon. Xinyu, who defeated Coco Gauff and Paula Badosa on her way to the final, made her first WTA final after going 0-6 in tournament semifinals.
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Paula Badosa hints at rocky relationship between ex-boyfriend Stefanos Tsitsipas and father, Apostolos
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