Ons
Jabeur defeated
Bianca Andreescu in an exciting three-set match in the third
round of
Wimbledon.
Jabeur and
Andreescu had one of the most intriguing matches of the day, featuring last
year's Wimbledon finalist and a former US Open champion. It was a contest that
could easily have been played in the later stages of the tournament.
The
Tunisian player had not been tested too much by her previous opponents.
Magdalena Frech (world No. 70) and Zhuoxuan Bai (world No. 191, a qualifier)
failed to take a set off Jabeur, and she only faced one break point against
her.
On the
other hand, Andreescu had been pushed to the limit in her previous rounds. She
played three sets against Anna Bondar (6-3, 3-6, 6-2) and the 26th seed
Anhelina Kalinina, winning in a final-set tiebreak 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(7).
In a
closely contested match, the Canadian player took the advantage in the fourth
game, converting her second break point. It turned out to be the only break of
the set, allowing her to take a 6-3 lead. She showed great solidity in her
service, winning 84% of her first-serve points and 63% of her second-serve
points.
Jabeur
struggled a bit with her serve, complicating things for herself due to a low
first-serve percentage (only 52% accuracy). However, when she did get her first
serve in, she won 91% of the points.
The second
set saw an improvement from Jabeur, who started to use her drop shots
effectively. However, her first-serve percentage dropped even further (only
47%), although she still won the majority of those points (93%). Once again, it
was a single break that made the difference, with Jabeur breaking in the sixth
game to level the set score.
A rain
delay interrupted the match in the third set after both players had lost their
serve once, with Andreescu leading 3-2. After a 50-minute break, Jabeur came
back with renewed energy to hold her serve and level the set at 3-3. Just when
it seemed like the former world No. 2 would take advantage of the break to
surpass Andreescu, the Canadian player displayed her best tennis.
The
athletes took the match to 4-4 in an exciting game, and with the pressure at
its highest, Andreescu lost her service game, giving Jabeur the opportunity to
finish the match on her own serve. The former world No. 2 did not succumb to
the pressure and held her serve, securing her spot in the fourth round to face
the 2-time Wimbledon champion and 9th seed, Petra Kvitova, who defeated one of
the tournament's surprises, Serbian player Natalija Kostic.