The narrative at Wimbledon had been all about Elina Svitolina’s return from maternity leave and her battle to give the people of Ukraine something to cheer about as she fulfilled a dream.

Marketa Vondrousova shattered that on Thursday with a 6-3, 6-3 semifinal rout.

And in doing so she wrote the latest chapter in her own redemption story as she became the first unseeded woman in tennis’s Open Era and first since Billie Jean King in 1963 to make the final.

King would go on to lose that final to Margaret Court.

Sixty years of history aside, for the Czech left-hander the semifinal result represented her own comeback to the top.

After the 2019 French Open, where she lost the final to Australia’s Ash Barty, the then 19-year-old had appeared to announce herself to the tennis world, but injuries soon followed.

Most notably to her left wrist. She first suffered an injury to it at Wimbledon that year and multiple surgeries followed.

“I didn’t play for six months last year and you never know if you can be at that level again. I’m just so grateful to be here and to be healthy and play tennis again,” she said.

A lot can change in a year — and against an errant Svitolina, Vondrousova was always in control of the match.

Admittedly it wasn’t high quality as both players struggled with nerves but when Vondrousova broke for a 4-3 lead in the opening set, she barely looked back.

As Svitolina buckled under the pressure in her third grand slam semifinal, Vondrousova blasted out to a 6-3, 4-0 lead before her nerves kicked in.

Svitiolina saved five game points to get it back to 4-1, then 4-3 before the Czech steadied and booked her place in a second grand slam final.