DailyExpertNews
†
Ons Jabeur reached its first grand slam final on Thursday with a 6-2 3-6 6-1 victory over Tatjana Maria at Wimbledon.
Tunisian Jabeur had already made history at Wimbledon this year as the first Arab or North African woman to compete in the semi-finals of a grand slam, and she took it a step further with a battling victory over Maria.
The third seed, who dropped only two sets in the tournament, quickly made it through the first set after a double service break, but Maria used her slice to good effect and responded with a break to take the second set.
With the level tied, Jabeur got the upper hand with a break at the start of the third set, followed by another 3-0 when Maria sent a simple forehand volley long.
From there, the match was pretty much sewn with Jabeur taking the win on her second of three match points after Maria returned into the net.
“I am a proud Tunisian woman standing here today,” Jabeur, who will face Elena Rybakina in the final on Saturday, said in her court interview, “and I know in Tunisia they are going crazy now.
“I just try to inspire as much as possible. I want to see more and more, not only Tunisian, but also Arab and African players on tour. I just love the game and I want to share this experience with them.”
Jabeur and Maria are good friends and shared a long hug at the end of the match. As the crowd applauded the two players, Jabeur dragged Maria back to the field and gestured to the crowd to cheer on her opponent.
The German had the best grand slam of her career at Wimbledon, just 15 months after the birth of her second child.
She is only the sixth woman aged 34 or older to play in a grand slam semifinal, following in the footsteps of Venus and Serena Williams, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Billie Jean King.
READ: Three Wimbledon guards arrested for allegedly arguing among themselves
“She has to make me a barbecue now to make up for all the running I did,” Jabeur joked after the game.
“I definitely wanted to share the moment with her at the end because she is such an inspiration to so many players, including me. Coming back after two babies – I can’t believe how she did it.”
Jabeur had never made it past the quarter-finals of a grand slam prior to this year’s tournament, but she was in the best shape of her life this season, rising to a record high of No. 2 in the world rankings.
Last year she made history as the first Arab player – male or female – to break into the top 10 in singles.
In Thursday’s other semi-final, Rybakina produced a stellar performance to surprise two-time grand slam champion Simona Halep in straight sets – 6-3 6-3.
It will be 23-year-old Rybakina’s first major final, as she becomes the youngest women’s singles finalist at Wimbledon since Garbine Muguruza in 2015.
“I don’t know how to describe it, it was really good. Today I was mentally prepared and did everything I could and it was a great match,” said Rybakina, the first player representing Kazakhstan to reach a final at Wimbledon. , in her post-match interview.
Halep, meanwhile, will be disappointed that she didn’t take advantage of her strong form as she didn’t drop a set in the tournament prior to Thursday’s game.