Ons Jabeur avenged her defeat in the final of Wimbledon last year by knocking out defending champion Elena Rybakina 6-7, 6-4, 6-1 in an engaging encounter on Centre Court.
Throughout the match the crowd were right behind the Tunisian Jabeur, who became the first African woman to reach a Grand Slam final when she lost to Rybakina in three sets last summer.
Jabeur took the first set that day but Rybakina came back — while this was the total opposite. Rybakina won a tense first set in which there had been two breaks of serve each — the Kazakhstani getting over the line 7-5 on a tiebreak.
The second set was another tight and tense affair, but with Jabeur ahead 5-4 in the set, Rybakina’s serve abandoned her at the worst possible time as Jabeur broke to take it 6-4.
If the second set left the Kazakhstani with regrets, the third was even worse. Rybakina won just a single game in a set in which Jabeur was in total contral. World No 3 Rybakina put shots into the net and went long with swings she would simply not have normally struggled to make.
Jabeur now faces second seed Aryna Sabalenka tomorrow for a chance to reach the final, after Sabalenka beat American Madison Keys 6-2, 6-4 on Court 1.
“I’m very happy with the performance”, Jabeur said. “A lot of emotion out there. Playing someone who serves really well, it’s frustrating to return. I got angry, then got calm and focused. Hopefully I can mamnage my emotions like this for the next few matches.
“It’s not easy playing her. I wish I can exchange this match for the final last year!
“I think I’m going to end up writing a book about my emotions because this is unbelievable.”
Speaking about facing Belarus’s Sabalenka next, Jabeur joked: “I saw she won very quick, which I wasn’t very happy with. She’s an amazing player. It’s going to be very challenging. She has been paying amazingly this year. She’s number one in the race right now.”
