Ons Jabeur
staged a remarkable comeback to defeat
Aryna Sabalenka and reach the
Wimbledon
final for the second time in her career.
World No. 6
is having a dream run at the All England Club. Despite not coming into
Wimbledon in her best form, Jabeur has been comfortable on the grass courts of
London and has showcased her best tennis to reach her third Grand Slam final,
and second consecutive one at SW19.
Jabeur
fought through a challenging path, eliminating Bianca Andreescu, Petra Kvitova
(9th seed), and Elena Rybakina (3rd seed), the 2022 champion. In today's match,
she faced the world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka and, similar to her encounter with
Rybakina, she had to overcome a set deficit.
On the
other hand, Sabalenka defeated Paana Udvardy, Varvara Gracheva, Anna Blinkova,
Ekaterina Aleksandrova, and Madison Keys, securing comfortable victories in all
of them.
The first
set was a nerve-wracking battle between the athletes, with both being strong on
their serves, although they struggled to win games easily. Jabeur saved the
only break point she faced, and Sabalenka also saved three break points against
her, resulting in a tiebreak.
In the
tiebreak of the first set, Sabalenka showed resilience and despite facing an
early mini-break, she recovered and took the advantage, winning it 7-6(5).
With the
first set advantage in hand, Jabeur's level did not waver, but Sabalenka had
her against the ropes in the second set when she secured a break, leading 7-6,
4-2, with the sole objective of holding her serve to reach the final.
Jabeur won
the next four games in a row, including two breaks in her favor, which gave her
the set and pushed the match to a decisive final set.
In the
latter part of the match, Sabalenka appeared more unfocused, and Jabeur, aided
by the support of the crowd, seized the opportunities she had and remained
solid on her serve. The Tunisian won 73% of the points on her first serve and
82% on her second serve, compared to Sabalenka's 70% on her first serve and
only 30% on her second serve.
In the
final, Jabeur will face Marketa Vondrousova, who defeated Elina Svitolina in
two sets.