Game, set, down the hatch! Marketa Vondrousova, 24, celebrates her Wimbledon win downing Stella Artois as she is reunited with her husband for their first wedding anniversary – after he stayed at home to look after their cat
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After months of hard work, there’s nothing better than kicking back with a well-earned beer.
And that’s exactly what Marketa Vondrousova did as she celebrated her Wimbledon win on Sunday night.
Tattooed Ms Vondrousova, 24, made Wimbledon history as the first-ever unseeded woman to win the tournament.
When interviewed after her victory on Saturday, she said: ‘I think I’m going to have some beer. It’s been an exhausting few weeks.’ The Czech champ’s wish came true as she celebrated in true tennis style by matching her black-ruffled ball gown with a pair of bright white tennis trainers.
She was pictured partying by drinking Stella Artois lagers from the bottle at the annual Champion’s ball – a longstanding tradition of the tournament.
The 24-year-old’s parents were not in London so she celebrated with her younger sister and husband, Stephan, who had been looking after their cat for the past two weeks. Stephan flew over from the Czech Republic and managed to make it for the final and a double celebration as the pair also celebrated their first wedding anniversary at the Champions dinner.
Marketa Vondrousova (second left with her tongue out) and friends enjoy a lager at the Wimbledon Winners’ ball thrown in the honour of her and men’s winner Carlos Alcaraz
Marketa (right) made Wimbledon history as the first-ever unseeded woman to win the world’s greatest tennis tournament on Saturday
Marketa Vondrousova poses in a stunning black dress and trainers as she attends the Champions Dinner in Wimbledon last night
Alcaraz, 20, (far right) and Marketa Vondrousova, 24, (centre left) pose at the dinner with guests
Marketa Vondrousova shared snaps on social media
Marketa Vondrousova became the first unseeded woman to win Wimbledon as she beat Ons Jabeur in straight sets
Ms Vondrousova emerged as one of the most unlikely champions at the All England Club with a 6-4 6-4 victory against the Tunisian player, Ons Jabeur, who was the favourite to win.
Jabeur, 28, took an early break lead but it seemed her nerves got the better of her as she made 31 unforced errors throughout the game compared to just 13 in from the world No. 42.
Ms Vondrousova’s best run at Wimbledon before this year had been in 2021 when she lost to Emma Raducanu in the second round.
Ms Vondrousova has a taste for tattoos and when asked if she would get another to mark her achievement, she said: ‘I made a bet with my coach that if I won a Grand slam he’s going to get one also.
‘I think we’ll go tomorrow.’
Alcaraz, 20, and Vondrousova, 24, posed with their trophies at a celebratory dinner after winning their finals at SW19.
The annual champions’ ball is a longstanding tradition of the tournament. Winners and runners-up from that year will dress to the nines to celebrate the victors.
On Saturday Vondrousova, who wore Nike trainers with her stunning gown last night, was congratulated by the Princess of Wales after the Czech became the first-ever unseeded woman to win Wimbledon. And last night she partied with friends with a few Stella Artois lagers.
And in a gripping men’s singles final yesterday, already considered one of the greatest ever, Alcaraz served his rival Novak Djokovic a crushing defeat in front of a very excitable Prince George and Princess Charlotte who punched the air in delight.
The extraordinary match, filled with high emotions from both players, was also attended by stars including Emma Watson, Brad Pitt, Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig as well as the King of Spain, Felipe VI.
Last night Alcaraz, now seen as tennis’ next great star, wore a classic Louis Vuitton tuxedo and black tie.
The champion’s husband shared pictures on Instagram
Champion! The tennis ace posed with her trophy
The Wimbledon ace partied the night away with friends and family
The new king and queen of Centre Court: Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and the Czech Republic’s Marketa Vondrousova pose with the winners trophies at the Champions Dinner
Jabeur would be defeated in straight sets by unseeded Czech Marketa Vondrousova in the final
Jabeur broke down after the game as she promised to come back and ‘make it one day’ as she lost her third Grand Slam final
Carlos Alcaraz attends the Wimbledon Champions Dinner at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club yesterday
Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz won his first Wimbledon men’s singles title on Sunday evening after defeating Novak Djokovic in one of the greatest finals of all time
Ms Vondrousova emerged as one of the most unlikely champions at the All England Club and the first unseeded women’s winner with a 6-4 6-4 victory against favourite Ons Jabeur.
While her parents were not in London, the Czech player was able to celebrate with her younger sister and husband, who passed over cat-sitting duties to fly over for the final.
The couple were planning to celebrate their first wedding anniversary on Sunday with a special date at the Champions Dinner.
Ms Vondrousova’s best run at Wimbledon prior to this year had been in 2021 when she lost to Emma Raducanu in the second round.
Her game, though, built on touch, slice and angles rather than power, is a good fit for grass, making this victory slightly less unexpected than at first glance.
She credits an early coach and her slightness of stature for the way her game has developed, saying: ‘I had one coach in my home town who taught me how to slice and everything.
‘I just feel like I was always the smallest one and I just didn’t have that much power, so I had to do something else to win. You can use it really well and you have many options, so that’s a great thing to have.’
Marketa Vondrousova attends the Wimbledon Champions Dinner at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club yesterday
Carlos Alcaraz poses for pictures with an umbrella at the Champions Dinner last night
Princess Charlotte and Prince George punched the air in celebration as they watched the end of the almost five-hour long match
Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig enjoyed the match
Guy Ritchie (L) and Brad Pitt (C) also took in the action
Zawe Ashton and Tom Hiddleston can’t believe what they’re seeing
Emma Watson watches Carlos Alcaraz win
During one tense moment, the usually composed Djokovic even slammied his racket into the net after losing his serve, denting the net post and resulting in huge boos from the crowd.
Both players had fallen to the ground in their desperate attempts to return the ball in a match that critics have already begun to hail as ‘one of the greatest’ of all time.
READ MORE: The royal seal of approval: Tennis fans Prince George and Princess Charlotte cheer on the new Wimbledon men’s champion Carlos Alcaraz
World number one Alcaraz – who grew up with a poster of Federer on his wall – said it was a ‘dream come true’ to win Wimbledon and ‘make history in this beautiful tournament’.
He added: ‘I have to congratulate Novak. It’s amazing to play against him. You inspire me. (When) I was born, you were winning tournaments.’
He was presented with his trophy by the Princess of Wales, before emotionally holding it up to the crowd, who had backed him throughout the nearly five-hour-long game.
Meanwhile an emotional Djokovic was reduced to tears as he accepted the runners-up plate and spotted his son Stefan in the crowd, offering his congratulations to Alacaraz in his post-match interview.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner also accepted his runners-up plate and welled up when he saw his son Stefan, saying: ‘Thank you for supporting me.’
He broke down in tears as he waved goodbye to the crowd while holding his plate after losing on the Centre Court for the first time in ten years.
Alcaraz was blown away 6-1 by Djokovic in just 34 minutes in the opening set, but the World No 1 pulled it back to 1-1 in the second – and got revenge by winning the third 6-1.
However, Djokovic seemed to regain momentum in the fourth set, cruising through with a series of powerful shots against his young opponent to level the match 2-2.
Alcaraz managed to knock Djokovic off his post in the fifth set, falling to his knees as he sent his winning shot across the net – after claiming a 3-2 victory in a match that had seemed impossible.
The final scores for the five-set game were 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 as Alcaraz toppled the long-standing champion.
After his captivating win, two-time Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal was also quick to offer his congratulations to the young tennis star.
He said: ‘Congratulations Carlos Alcaraz. You have given us immense joy today and I am sure that you’re our pioneer in Spanish tennis, Manolo Santana has also been cheering wherever he is, such at Wimbledon whom you have joined today.
‘A very strong hug and enjoy the moment, Champion!!’
Djokovic said after the match: ‘Not so good for me, but good for Carlos. Praises to Carlos. You deserve it absolutely, congratulations.
‘As for me obviously, you never like to lose matches like this. But when all the emotions are settled I have to still be very very grateful.
‘Maybe I have won a couple of finals I should have lost. So maybe this is ‘even Stevens!’
‘It is a tough one to swallow when you are so close. I lost to a better player, I have to congratulate him, and move on – stronger hopefully.’
The victory means that he is the first person outside of the ‘big four’ – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray – to win the Wimbledon men’s single title since 2002, when Alcaraz wasn’t even born.
It is his second grand slam title after winning the US Open in 2022.
The last time 36-year-old Djokovic lost on centre court, in 2013 to Andy Murray, Carlos was still in primary school.
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