Marketa Vondrousova, latest in line of Czech stylists, ends Elina Svitolina's unforgettable Wimbledon

WATCH: Marketa Vondrousova reaches the Wimbledon final

A good title for today’s Wimbledon semifinal between Elina Svitolina and Marketa Vondrousova would be The Battle of the Backstories. Svitolina’s was one of global significance, her passionate support for Ukraine and recent comeback from maternity leave an incredibly powerful and heartwarming journey.

“Even today when I was down, I got a lot of support,” said Svitolina. “I'm really thankful for the crowd to support me, be there for me, and all Ukrainian people as well.”

Vondrousova had also shown resilience. In recent years, she’s recovered from two surgical procedures on her left wrist, the most recent one last year triggering a six-month absence from the tour. “You never know if you can be at that level again,” Vondrousova said this afternoon.

How about better than that level? For Vondrousova had said these words a few minutes after she’d won her first-ever match on Centre Court, 6-3, 6-3 over Svitolina that in large part was a brilliant, textured demonstration of skill that every ambitious player, parent or instructor can learn from.

Svitolina’s five wins over the course of The Championships included four versus Grand Slam champions: Venus Williams, Sofia Kenin, Victoria Azarenka, Iga Swiatek. Movement, depth, grit and, at times, unprecedented power, have been the keys to Svitolina’s excellent run.

But there is also this adage: If your only tool is a hammer, then you see the solution to every problem as a nail. Such are the dimensions of Svitolina’s game; darn effective, but narrow.

In contrast, Vondrousova possesses a Swiss Army knife, an instrument that can inflict damage in a variety of ways. Versus Svitolina, she was a virtuoso. Already vaguely unsettled by the possibility of how Vondrousova could trouble her, Svitolina served at 2-2, love-40, opted to make a rare foray into the net and was swiftly passed by a down-the-line forehand. Clearly uncomfortable in the front part of the court, Svitolina finished the match 6 of 21 at the net.

Even today when I was down, I got a lot of support. I'm really thankful for the crowd to support me, be there for me, and all Ukrainian people as well. Elina Svitolina

This match revealed a medley of Vondrousova’s eclecticism: drop shots, pinpoint lobs, powerful returns, even a forehand squash shot that skidded crosscourt past Svitolina. Hitting 11 winners per set, Vondrousova was brilliany, constantly confounding Svitolina with speed and spin.

“It is for this reason that the mastery and complete knowledge of spin and curve of the ball is of paramount importance to a tennis player,” wrote Bill Tilden in the strategic classic, Match Play and the Spin of the Ball. “I prefer to make the ball follow my suggestions, rather than chase it around at those of my opponent.”

All too swiftly for the Centre Court crowd gathered to watch a pair of women’s semis, Vondrousova had frequently put Svitolina in enough awkward spots to go ahead 6-3, 4-0, 40-0 love.

“I should have find a better way to deal with Marketa's game style,” said Svitolina. “She's very tricky opponent. She gets lots of balls back.”

But then came two connected factors that had potential to take the match in a very different direction. Five points away from the final, previously having gone 1-4 at Wimbledon, Vondrousova’s nerves kicked in. This kind of vulnerability and poor execution, including two double-faults on game points, was precisely the opening Svitolina needed. A break, a hold, another break, and there Svitolina was, back on serve at 3-4.

“Crazy,” said Vondrousova. “It was a very tough match. She was coming back. She was playing some good tennis.”

Yet now, so near to drawing close in a match where she’d been thoroughly outplayed, Svitolina faltered. A double-fault at 15-love was just the start of four straight points lost. Serving for the finals at 5-3, Vondrousova remained tight, but at 30-30 cracked an ace down the T and then drew a forehand return error.

Vondrousova possesses a Swiss Army knife, an instrument that can inflict damage in a variety of ways. Versus Svitolina, she was a virtuoso.

Said Svitolina, “I guess it was also nervous moment for Marketa because also playing semifinal is never easy to finish the match. I tried to fight back and just, yeah, give everything out there even though I didn't play my best today. Yeah, didn't happen. She played great. She was really patient today. Was playing really great points until the very end.”

For Svitolina, what’s happened this year has been a life-defining and even potentially career-changing moment. Affinity for her homeland has meant so very much.

“For sure it's a big motivation,” she said, “but...it's a lot of responsibility, a lot of tension. I try to balance it as much as I can...I try to take it as a motivation for me. I just hope that Ukrainian people continue supporting me. It was really amazing.”

Hopefully, the inspired Svitolina will continue to play this excellent brand of tennis in the months and years to come.

And so, for the second Grand Slam in a row, a multi-faceted player from the Czech Republic is in the finals. Last month at Roland Garros, Karolina Muchova was the one who wielded her racquet like a paintbrush.

“I also talked with Karolina when she was playing Paris,” said Vondrousova. “I was crying so much after the final when she lost. It was really sad. In Czech we have so many great players. We also support each other. It's very nice to see.”

Now comes Vondrousova.

“Yeah, I mean, after everything I've been through, two surgeries, it's not always easy to come back,” she said. “I just feel like I'm just grateful to be on a court again, to play without pain. I'm just really grateful for it.”

How fitting that one of Vondrousova’s compatriots, Jan Kodes, was in her box during today’s match. Fifty years ago, Kodes had won the Wimbledon singles title, the second Czech to do so since another lefty, Jaroslav Drobny, went the distance in 1954. That same year of 1973, Kodes had also been both mentor and mixed doubles partner for a 16-year-old Czech lefty making her Wimbledon debut. The young woman’s name was Martina Navratilova.

From lefty Wimbledon winners like Drobny, Navratilova and Petra Kvitova, to righty Hall of Famers like 1930s pro Karel Kozeluh, Kodes, Ivan Lendl, Hana Mandlikova, Helena Sukova and Jana Novotna, Vondrousova is yet the latest in a long line of remarkable stylists from a tennis powerhouse worthy of close study. Or, in the hardware section of Amazon, a reasonably priced Swiss Army knife.