To the many “firsts” filling Ons Jabeur’s résumé, add a new one: First Arab woman to reach the semifinals at a Grand Slam tournament. The third-seeded Tunisian improved on last year's quarterfinal run at Wimbledon by doing one better on Tuesday at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament. She beat Marie Bouzkova 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 on Centre Court.
“It means a lot,” said the 27-year-old Jabeur, who is ranked No. 2 in the world. “I was hoping that I could get to this stage for a long time already.... I was talking a little bit to (former Moroccan player) Hicham Arazi, and he told me, ‘Arabs always lose in the quarterfinals and we are sick of it. Please break this.' I was, like, I’ll try, my friend.”
