The three-time Major finalist, most recently back at Wimbledon last month, held her nerve to outlast Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina in three sets – including a pair of tiebreaks – on her return to the tour, exactly a month after Marketa Vondrousova doused her Grand Slam dreams at SW19. All things considered, as the US Open edges closer, the Tunisian must continue playing fearlessly.
Jabeur must play free, forget about the past
- “I tried to reflect a bit on the final, but for now: it’s still tough to think about it again. I believe I have the level to be a Grand Slam champion, and can be one of the greatest players – but if it’s going to take time, then I’m there. I’m trying to unlock things, maybe it’s too early… but I know I’m going the right way.” Jabeur on the Vondrousova defeat, her mindset and staying patient
- Tournament’s fifth seed won on return vs. Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-2), plays Donna Vekic in the last-16 after Croatian’s comeback victory to down two-time Major champion Victoria Azarenka
Just as 23-time Major champion Novak Djokovic returns this week in a packed Masters 1000 draw, fellow Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur does the same knowing she can’t afford to dwell on another painful Grand Slam final defeat.
After all, there are still three months left of action in a grinding tennis calendar and given her ever-growing ambitions, recovering from adversity is a feeling she must do quickly to move on and finally scale the mountain she’s long been climbing – alongside a series of other hopefuls, like new Toronto champion Jessica Pegula.
During her media day press conference last Sunday, the Tunisian admitted to feeling jaded but is heartened by the fan support – win or lose:
“I had to take a few days – or a lot of days! – off to recover, and it still wasn’t enough. I wasn’t feeling ready to play Montreal because that loss was kind of tough for me, tried to stay home and be with my family.
I’m still happy that I made it to the final, obviously. If you ask any other player to take three Grand Slam finals, they would take it right away.
I see the support from the fans here and it’s really unbelievable to see them supporting me all the time, but I’m definitely coming as a different person to this tournament. I’m in a different position, I’ve got to say.
But I’m just going to keep being myself, trying to play better on hard courts and see what’s going to happen. For me, the key is to not be afraid, go play another final. If I lose another final, it’s ok… I’m going to go there, fight and that’s the spirit I’m going to go with.”
Jabeur clinched her first WTA 1000 title on the Madrid clay last year, before a US Open final defeat by Iga Swiatek 13 months ago just emphasised her unnerving tendency to get tight in the biggest matches, the direct opposite of her free-flowing playstyle and consistent ability to improvise which earns those opportunities.
The way she recovered from the brink against Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka serves as an example of her capabilities when the chips are down.
Achieving that consistency is a tough ask for any player, not least given the depth in women’s tennis. Swiatek’s stay atop the world rankings has been underappreciated, having taken the mantle from now-retired Ashleigh Barty last year.
She spoke about trying to be perfect on the tennis court, an impossible task for even the very best, but her style is one that can be jarring to watch when it’s not on song.
As I covered in last month’s final breakdown, those intricacies being exploited were echoed by analysts on commentary and you can imagine her peers aren’t far behind with the amount of match film and historical footage available to dissect.
Ons tried to play too good, do everything and the discipline over the last few matches wasn’t there – had too many options and couldn’t stick to one.
Jabeur looked like she went out to play a Wimbledon final, Vondrousova to play the seventh match of the tournament – such a big difference – didn’t capitalise on 2-0 or 4-2, then she went away after having chances in set two.
As for what’s next, only she can decide. It’s all about establishing those marginal gains, as she said in the quotes above, to give her the edge at all times.
She turns 29 later this month and the pressure will only intensify if this spell of success without major trophies persists, no matter how you spin it. That’s why she’s applied such responsibility on herself to get it right, once and for all.
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes via tennis.com
Mo and Sports 