Ons Jabeur, 2nd in the world, qualified for the Wimbledon final. The Tunisian beat the German Tatjana Maria (103rd) 6-2 3-6 6-1.
She becomes the first player from the African continent to reach the final of a Grand Slam tournament in the Open era. “It’s a dream come true following years of hard work and sacrifice. I’m happy that it all finally paid off and that I can play one more match,” said the 27-year-old Tunisian who dropped her first set of the tournament.
This next match, her first Grand Slam final, she will play it on Saturday once morest Elena Rybakina (23rd), victorious for only her second participation in the prestigious London tournament, the Romanian Simona Halep (18th and winner in 2019), 6-3, 6 -3, becoming the first representative of Kazakhstan to reach the final of a Grand Slam tournament.
“She owes me a barbecue for all the races she forced me to do on the court,” Jabeur said of Maria, her friend and “barbecue partner”, as she presented her on Tuesday. The two players also shared a long hug at the net at the end of the meeting.
Two models
“I wanted to share this moment with her because she is truly an inspiration to so many people, including me,” Jabeur explained in reference to Maria’s successful performance (103rd). The 34-year-old German, mother of two little girls, the last of whom was born less than a year ago, had never passed the third round of a Major.
But Jabeur is a model herself. The first player from the Arab world to reach the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam at the Australian Open in 2020, she climbed two more steps this year at Wimbledon.
“I’m a proud Tunisian woman today. I know Tunisia must be crazy right now. I’m just trying to be an inspiration as much as possible, I want to see more Arab players and Africans on the circuit,” she said before leaving Center Court.
She had just spent 1h43 there to dismiss Maria. The match was rather atypical, old-fashioned, with a lot of placed balls, a lot of sliced balls, including forehand.
The decisive set was one-sided: Jabeur quickly led 3-0 and, in the fourth game, hanging on, Maria offered her opponent a double break on a smash that seemed without difficulty but which she sent into the tarpaulin .
A few minutes later, the Tunisian was delighted with her first Grand Slam final. She remains undefeated this year on grass following her title in Berlin two weeks ago.
Rybakina frappe fort
Rybakina, who was born in Moscow, grew up there and lives there, knows it will be difficult once morest the Tunisian. “It will still be a great game. She is a great player, very difficult to play and it will not be easy to counter her drop shots and volleys,” predicted Rybakina, who will be the youngest Major finalist on grass since Garbine. Muguruza in 2015.
“I don’t know how to describe how I feel, it was really good, I was well prepared mentally, I did everything possible and I had an incredible match,” commented the 23-year-old, whose the best Grand Slam result was a quarter-final at Roland Garros in 2021.
With his big shots, especially on serve (5 aces and 0 double faults when Halep did not manage a single ace but committed 9 double faults), Rybakina dominated the game.
This article has been published automatically. Sources: ats / afp
