“Honestly, I’m glad it’s over. I was very nervous before and during the match. I’ve never felt anything like that,” said Rybakinová in a post-match interview on the court.
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“I want to thank the spectators for their support, but also congratulate Uns for a great match. I think she is a great inspiration for everyone. She has an amazing style of play. We don’t have anyone like her on the circuit and it’s a pleasure to play against her. I ran so much today that I don’t have to keep training fitness,” added Rybakinová.
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The 17th seed, who has been playing for Kazakhstan since 2018, turned the tide of the final on the grass at the All England Club as the first female tennis player in sixteen years. The last time a similar feat was accomplished in 2006 by the Frenchwoman Amélia Mauresmová. She defeated Džabúrová for the second time out of four mutual matches. Four years older, the Tunisian did not take advantage of the opportunity to become the first Grand Slam champion from North Africa and the Arab countries.
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“It’s sad for me, but there is only one winner in tennis. I believe that I will still influence the generations in my country. I want to thank my team and the spectators who supported us here. I also congratulate Jelena on an excellent match and I hope to see you on the court again sometime we’ll meet,” said Džábúrová, who fans in her country dubbed the “minister of happiness” thanks to her performance at Wimbledon.
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Rybakinová will receive two million pounds (about 58.2 million crowns) for her triumph, Džábúrová will receive more than half the amount. However, due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes, the WTA organization, like other Wimbledon participants, will not award them any points in the world rankings.
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The British duchess Kate Džábúrová had a better entry into the match. In the third game, she broke her opponent’s serve, immediately confirmed the break and took the lead 3:1. In addition, Rybakinová spoiled a number of lighter balls in the next set, made 17 unforced errors in the first set and finally lost it in thirty-three minutes. She lost a set for only the second time in the tournament.
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But she did not give up and won a break right at the beginning of the second set. At 1:2, Džábúrová was close to equalizing when her opponent served. When Rybakin got the game back in her favor after more than eight minutes, the Tunisian considered claiming her final serve. But in the end she changed her mind and did not do well. Replays showed the ball was in the car. Džábúrová then lost her serve for the second time and Rybakinová got into a rhythm. In the next course, she reached the 50 ace mark in the tournament and forced a decisive set.
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In addition, Jábúrová did not even start the third set and lost her serve again. The second player in the world and quarterfinal defeater Marie Bouzková could have returned to the game even at 2:3 when she had three break points, but Rybakinová turned them away and held serve for five balls in a row.
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The twenty-third tennis player of the WTA ranking did not allow any drama in the end and after winning three games in a row, she reached the first Grand Slam triumph in her career. She also became the sixth different Wimbledon winner in a row and, at twenty-three, is the youngest champion since Petra Kvitová’s triumph in 2011. The Czech was 21 years old at the time.
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Australians Ebden and Purcell won the men’s doubles
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Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell won the doubles at Wimbledon. In the dramatic final, the Australian tennis players defeated the Croatian defending champions Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavič 7:6, 6:7, 4:6, 6:4, 7:6. The fourteenth seeded pair won the duel after four hours and sixteen minutes and are celebrating their first Grand Slam title.
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Ebden and Purcell only started playing together fully this year and reached the final four times. They were already close to a Grand Slam triumph at their home Australian Open, but there they were not enough in the final against compatriots Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios. At Roland Garros on clay, they were eliminated in the first round.
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They played five five-set matches at Wimbledon and averted a total of eight match points en route to the final. In the final, Mektič and Pavič did not allow even one, and after the semi-final triumph over the tournament’s number one players Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, this time they also managed the second seeded pair.
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Thirty-four-year-old Ebden has only won a Grand Slam singles nine years ago at the Australian Open. Ten years younger, Purcell won his first Grand Slam title. In doubles, he played in the final for the third time at the big four tournaments.
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| Tennis Wimbledon 2022 (grass, £40.35m endowment): |
|---|
| Women’s Singles – Final: |
| Rybakinová (17-Kaz.) – Dzabúrová (3-Tun.) 3:6, 6:2, 6:2 |
| Men: |
| Doubles – Final: |
| Ebden, Purcell (14-Austr.) – Mektič, Pavič (2-Chorv.) 7:6 (7:5), 6:7 (3:7), 4:6, 6:4, 7:6 (10 :2). |
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| Juniors: |
| Doubles – Final: |
| Gorzny, Michelsen (USA) – Debru, Inchauspe (5-Fr.) 7: 6 (7: 5), 6: 3. |
| Junior girls: |
| Singles – Final: |
| Hovdeová (1-USA) – Udvardyová (7-Germany) 6:3, 6:4. |
| Doubles – Final: |
| Nijkamp, Okutoyi (Netherlands/Kenya) – Cross, Mbok (4-Can.) 3:6, 6:4, 11:9. |
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