"The dream started last year" - Jabeur on winning Wimbledon

No.3 seed Ons Jabeur's trailblazing has taken her all the way into the Wimbledon final after triumphing 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 in a 1-hour, 43-minute battle of touch over Tatjana Maria.

Jabeur becomes the first Tunisian, first Arab and first African woman to reach a Grand Slam final in the Open Era. For the past four years, she has been setting records for her country and region; now, having won 22 of her past 24 matches, the 27-year-old has given herself the opportunity to go for the biggest milestone of all.

She said:

"The dream kind of started last year when I enjoyed playing here, enjoyed the crowd. I didn't play so many Wimbledons before. Usually it was the first and second round. It's tricky to play on grass. I knew I was playing good on grass because of my game and everything. But last year, Melanie [Maillard] reminded me, my mental coach, I told her, 'I'm coming back next year for the title,' when I lost in the quarterfinals."

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She added:

"I just love everything around here, the atmosphere and everything. It was my main goal from the beginning of the season, and even from last year. Everything about the energy, I just love being here."

On facing Rybakina in the final, Jabeur added:

"She serves really well, so my main goal is to return as much balls as I can, to make her really work hard to win the point. I know she can hit really hard and hit a lot of winners. I know that my game could really bother her. I really try to focus more on myself, do a lot of slices, try to really make her work hard. I know that type of players usually win the point in two, three shots. For me, I'm just going to continue and do what I do on the court."

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