Tunisian Tennis Star Ons Jabeur Wins Birmingham WTA Title
Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur made history when she became the first Arab woman to win a WTA title, beating Russian Daria Kasatkina 7-5 6-4 in the final of the grasscourt event in Birmingham.
Jabeur, the second seed, gained a measure of revenge as she secured her first title at the expense of Kasatkina, one of two women to have beaten her in her previous finals appearances.
“I’m so proud. I’ve struggled a lot and it was tough for me to win a WTA title,” Jabeur told the crowd on the Ann Jones Centre Court. “I had to go for it. I had to win this title just to breathe out a little bit and also to be the example.”
“There are not a lot of Arabic or Tunisian players playing and I hope this inspires them to go on and do more. I want to see more of them playing alongside me,” Jabeur added.
Jabeur, ranked 24 in the world, has been in fine form this season where she ranks alongside former world No 1 Ashleigh Barty in terms of matches won (28).
The 26-year-old held her nerve despite Kasatkina breaking back when Jabeur served for the first set at 5-4.Jabeur, though, broke world number 35 Kasatkina immediately and this time she made no mistake in serving to win the set.
However, her opponent did not give her a sniff of a chance of a repeat of forcing her into a decider as she raced into a 4-0 lead in the second set.
Kasatkina, winner of two titles this season, fought her way back to 4-3 down but the Tunisian remained focused, sealing the title on her first match point when the Russian netted.
Chidi Nwoke/Reuters.
