Tunisian Ons Jabeur Wins First WTA 1000 Title In Madrid
Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur sealed her first WTA 1000 title after defeating American Jessica Pegula 7-5 0-6 6-2 in an entertaining Madrid Open final.
Jabeur, 27, had been in scintillating form at the claycourt tournament and she produced a determined display against Pegula to end her journey in the Spanish capital on the perfect note.
The African had a slow start, going 1-4 down in the opener, but took advantage of a handful of loose baseline errors from Pegula to make it 4-4.
The first Arab player to crack the top 10 of the world rankings, Jabeur showed flair and fighting spirit as she saved a set point at 4-5 before closing out the set on her serve.
However, the Tunisian lost her grip in the second set where she was handed a bagel by Pegula, who recovered remarkably and looked unstoppable.
The decider saw world number 10 Jabeur at her aggressive best as the Tunisian fought through a long deuce game, breaking on her first chance to earn a double-break lead and chance to serve out the win.
Jabeur fell to her knees after completing the biggest win of her career, becoming the first African player to win a WTA 1000 title.
In Tunisia, in Africa, the Arab world and beyond…
🇹🇳 @Ons_Jabeur is blazing the trail 🔥
She captures the biggest trophy of her career so far at the #MMOPEN! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/eWshdDIq99
— wta (@WTA) May 7, 2022
“I really want to thank my team for all the hard work we have been doing,“ Jabeur said after the match. “I mean, we’ve lost a lot of finals but today i am happy that I pulled the win.”
“It was very tough especially last time in Charleston (when she lost to Belinda Bencic in the Charleston Open final in April 2022).”
“So thank you guys for always believing in me and pushing me forward. I am thankful for my family who came here to support me today.”
Chidi Nwoke/Reuters/WTA.
