Shaky Jabeur survives the first test – New Indian Express
Second seed Ons Jabeur’s quest for a first Grand Slam win at the Australian Open began on Tuesday with an unforced error-filled 7-6 (10/8), 4-6, 6-1 win over Tamara Zidanšek.
The Tunisian was runner-up in both Wimbledon and the US Open last year, but he had to beat the world number 98 Slovenian in 2 hours and 17 minutes under the roof of the Rod Laver Arena.
In 2023, Jabeur set herself a dual goal of becoming the first Arab and African woman to win one of the four tennis tournaments and knock Iga Swiatek off the top ranking.
But the 28-year-old, who had tape on her left knee, suffered early nerves as she took to Melbourne Park’s center court on day two for a night session.
Jabeur lost her opening service game but came right back.
Further breaks were exchanged before the powerful Jabeur eventually defeated the Slovenian 10-8 in a grueling tiebreak at the end of the first set, which lasted 68 minutes.
In the second serve with the score 3-4, Jabeur lost serve for the third time, and Zidanšek took advantage of this to equalize.
But after an extended interval between sets, Jabeur cleaned up her game, made fewer mistakes and cruised to victory.
“I just tried to follow what coach told me to do,” she said of her third-set turnaround.
“I didn’t really do that and he’s going to kill me after the game,” she joked.
Jabeur committed 49 unforced errors during her stuttering opening match, but only six errors in her much-improved third set.
“I just tried to be more patient. It’s a tough sport and you definitely don’t want to play three sets here.”
In the end, Jabeur did just enough to secure a second-round meeting with Alison Riske-Amritraj of the United States or Czech Republic’s Marketa Vondrousova.
Jabeur, who missed last year’s Australian Open with a back injury, won the Cup in Madrid and Berlin last year in a breakthrough season, which catapulted her to second in the rankings.
Jabeur reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final at Melbourne Park in 2020 and has now won 11 of her last 12 opening-round matches at majors, her only loss coming against 52nd-ranked Magda Linette at Roland Garros last year.
Second seed Ons Jabeur’s quest for a first Grand Slam win at the Australian Open began on Tuesday with an unforced error-filled 7-6 (10/8), 4-6, 6-1 win over Tamara Zidanšek. The Tunisian was runner-up in both Wimbledon and the US Open last year, but he had to beat the world number 98 Slovenian in 2 hours and 17 minutes under the roof of the Rod Laver Arena. In 2023, Jabeur set herself a dual goal of becoming the first Arab and African woman to win one of the four tennis tournaments and knock Iga Swiatek off the top ranking. But the 28-year-old, who had tape on her left knee, suffered early nerves as she took to Melbourne Park’s center court on day two for a night session. Jabeur lost her opening service game but came right back. Further breaks were exchanged before the powerful Jabeur eventually defeated the Slovenian 10-8 in a grueling tiebreak at the end of the first set, which lasted 68 minutes. In the second serve with the score 3-4, Jabeur lost serve for the third time, and Zidanšek took advantage of this to equalize. But after an extended interval between sets, Jabeur cleaned up her game, made fewer mistakes and cruised to victory. “I just tried to follow what coach told me to do,” she said of her third-set turnaround. “I didn’t really do that and he’s going to kill me after the game,” she joked. Jabeur committed 49 unforced errors during her stuttering opening match, but only six errors in her much-improved third set. “I just tried to be more patient. It’s a tough sport and you definitely don’t want to play three sets here.” In the end, Jabeur did just enough to secure a second-round meeting with Alison Riske-Amritraj of the United States or Czech Republic’s Marketa Vondrousova. Jabeur, who missed last year’s Australian Open with a back injury, won the Cup in Madrid and Berlin last year in a breakthrough season, which catapulted her to second in the rankings. Jabeur reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final at Melbourne Park in 2020 and has now won 11 of her last 12 opening-round matches at majors, her only loss coming against 52nd-ranked Magda Linette at Roland Garros last year.