Wimbledon: Resilient Jabeur Fights Back To Beat Andreescu
Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur came from a set down to keep her Wimbledon dream alive after a hard-fought 3-6 6-4 6-3 victory against former Grand Slam champion Bianca Andreescu of Canada at the Centre Court in London, United Kingdom.
Jabeur, the first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam final, struggled to find her best on her first match back on Centre Court since last year’s final.
The Tunisian was outplayed in the first set as 2019 US Open champion Andreescu, whose variety puzzled even the usually versatile Jabeur, took the first set 6-3.
Jabeur was determined to get back into the encounter and the sixth seed regained some control with a serve break midway through the second set.
It enabled the Tunisian take the match into a deciding set as she won the second set 6-3.
Andreescu, who like Jabeur has a box of tricks up her sleeve, looked to have the edge again in the third set and was a break ahead but gave away her advantage with a double fault. Rain began to fall and the match was halted while the Centre Court roof was slid across.
On the resumption, Jabeur had to work hard to hold serve, saving a break point and she then picked the perfect moment to strike when she broke to love at 4-4.
Jabeur still had to serve it out but did so calmly, sealing victory with an ace to move into a fourth-round clash against two-time champion Petra Kvitova, roaring with relief after match point.
Comeback complete.@Ons_Jabeur reaches the Round of 16 with an ace#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/doh09xP1iN
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 8, 2023
“I’ve got to thank the rain a little bit, letting me speak to my coach and having a better perspective about the match,” said Jabeur, who also reached last year’s US Open final.
“I didn’t play my best tennis but I wanted to be more aggressive. I’m playing against a grand slam champion and she made the mission tough.”
“It was very emotional coming back here since a great final. It’s my favourite court and I also love the crowd, the energy and how beautiful it is and hopefully I can come back and play more matches here,” Jabeur added.
Joy for Jabeur! 🇹🇳#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/efOYgLmLIF
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 8, 2023
