Vondrousova rolls past Jabeur in Berlin quarterfinal; Badosa retires with hip injury
Marketa Vondrousova View Profile once again got the better of Ons Jabeur View Profile , winning their Berlin quarterfinal 6-4, 6-1 in a rematch of the 2023 Wimbledon final.
With the result, Vondrousova takes a 5-4 lead in a rivalry that dates back to 2015, and a 2-1 edge on grass. The win sends her into her first semifinal in 14 months, last reached in Stuttgart in April 2024.
This time last year, both Vondrousova and Jabeur were ranked inside the Top 10. Now, they are ranked No. 164 and No. 61, respectively. Vondrousova entered Berlin with a special ranking, while Jabeur reached the main draw as a lucky loser, still working her way back from a string of injuries over the past year.
Shoulder problems caused both to end their 2024 seasons early, with Vondrousova undergoing surgery last August. The Czech was sidelined for another three months this year due to her shoulder, while a foot injury in March was another setback for Jabeur.
Vondrousova will bid to reach her first final since winning Wimbledon 2023 against either No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka View Profile or another former Wimbledon champion, Elena Rybakina View Profile .
Aggressive start backed up by strong defense: Vondrousova raced out of the blocks, going for down-the-line shots early in rallies and dominating Jabeur with a flurry of winners in the first three games of the match. She also won one of the best points of the match, in which both players went angle-to-angle almost horizontally across the court before Vondrousova finally out-manoeuvred Jabeur.
Having gained an early lead, Vondrousova never relinquished it. She saved all four break points against her in the match with a combination of strong serving and bold finesse -- one drop shot winner down break point was cut so finely that it only just crept over the net -- and won 74% of her first-serve points. Her skill on defense was also on show, as it had been in the Wimbledon final two years ago: the 25-year-old's ability to redirect balls at full stretch was remarkable. It elicited an increasing number of mistakes from Jabeur, who tallied 39 unforced errors to 23 winners in the match.
"We've played many times, so I think we know each other," Vondrousova said. "We have similar slices and drop shots -- I think it was a great match today."
Jabeur's sportsmanship shines through: The match might not have gone her way, but Jabeur drew applause for a moment of real sportsmanship. At deuce in the first game of the second set, Vondrousova ended a cat-and-mouse exchange with a forehand winner down the line -- but it was called out, and she did not challenge the decision. Instead, Jabeur overturned the call herself, conceding the point to Vondrousova and handing a second break point opportunity of the game to her opponent.
Jabeur saved that break point with a service winner, but Vondrousova took her third chance of the game with an excellent drop shot, and ran away with the second set.
Wang Xinyu advances via retirement: Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu advanced to her second semifinal of 2025, and first of her career on grass, after No. 8 seed Paula Badosa View Profile retired from their quarterfinal due to a right hip injury after losing the first set 6-1. The result will go down as Wang's fourth career Top 10 win -- three of which have come on grass, and two this week in Berlin following her second-round upset of Coco Gauff View Profile .
