Czech Marketa Vondrousova showed there was no room for any gushing sentiment as she ended the remarkable run of new mum Elina Svitolina with a 6-3, 6-3 victory to reach the Wimbledon final for the first time on Thursday.

She will take on Tunisian One Jabueur, the sixth seed, who ousted world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-3.

Jabeur showed that it is sometimes better to float like a butterfly than sting like a bee as her wily artistry overcame the brutal hitting of Sabalenka to reach her second Wimbledon final.

Jabeur, who was beaten in last year’s final, looked destined to suffer more heartbreak on Centre Court when she lost the opening set, but her delicate strokeplay and clever angles eventually subdued the relentless power of Belarusian Sabalenka.

Jabeur passed up four match points, but finally got over the line with an ace. The Tunisian, who is bidding to become the first African woman as well as first Arab to win a major, has shown real steel to come through this year, becoming the first woman to defeat three top-10 opponents at Wimbledon since Serena Williams in 2012.

‘Super woman’

In the run-up to a first All England Club women’s semi-final featuring two unseeded players, Vondrousova said the Ukrainian Svitolina was “incredible”, “amazing”, “a fighter” and “a super woman” for reaching the last four of a grand slam nine months after giving birth to daughter Skai.

But that did not stop Vondrousova ending Svitolina’s dreams and she now stands one win away from completing her own phenomenal comeback story after two wrist surgeries following her runner-up finish at the French Open in 2019.

“I am very happy that I made the final. Elina is such a fighter and a great person. It was a tough match. I am very happy,” said Vondrousova.

She will be bidding to become the first unseeded woman to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish in Saturday’s final.

Svitolina had become a firm crowd favourite at Wimbledon after she produced a fearless brand of tennis to send four grand slam champions spinning out of this year’s tournament.

But on Thursday, no matter how much the crowd tried to lift the Ukrainian wild card with cries of “We love you Elina”, Svitolina appeared to be weighed down with the expectation of giving her war-ravaged country “a little bit of happiness.”

Bopanna stumbles

India’s Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden crashed out of the men’s doubles competition, losing 5-7, 4-6 to top seeds Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands and Britain’s Neal Skupsk in the semi-finals. Seeded sixth, Bopanna and Ebden battled for one hour and 26 minutes before going down.