Ons Jabeur is out of the Berlin Ladies Open after retiring in her clash against Coco Gauff on Saturday afternoon. As opposed to Aryna Sabalenka though who was struck down with a shoulder injury, it was in fact illness that paid heed to her run in Germany.
Jabeur who reached the final of Wimbledon last year is the latest out of that final tandem to be struck down just before the big event with Marketa Vondrousova slipping against Anna Kalinskaya and suffering an injury. Of course an illness is more likely to be cured before SW19 but it is not ideal preparation.
She was a set down when this happened which was a tight one at that so she still managed to play through it to a point. But after losing the first set narrowly, she decided against carrying on. She was sat getting her temperature checked during the change of ends after losing the opening set in a long tie-break.
Next up for Gauff now will be one of two familiar faces with Jessica Pegula or Katerina Siniakova facing off. They are into a final set which will be completed shortly and it is an intriguing tie for the former. Her usual doubles partner in Pegula and her recent doubles partner at Roland Garros where she reached the final securing doubles glory. Something she has not done during her career with Pegula despite being a close knit tandem.
Siniakova was a late replacement on the otherhand after Taylor Townsend and Pegula were both injured. So they decided to come together to form a late union. It paid dividends and they could face off in singles shortly. Sabalenka like alluded to withdrew with a shoulder injury. Anna Kalinskaya now faces Victoria Azarenka in the semi-finals. The second half of that line-up will be set shortly.
Coco Gauff advances to the semifinals in Berlin as Ons Jabeur retires from the match. Ons was getting her temperature checked after losing the first set in a long tiebreak. Hopefully Ons is alright and is ready for Wimbledon. It’s an event that holds a very special place in…
