Ons Jabeur, 27, couldn’t hide her happiness and excitement after reaching her maiden Grand Slam semifinal and writing Arab tennis history.
On Tuesday, Jabeur recovered from a set down to beat Marie Bouzkova 3-6 6-1 6-1 and become the first Arab player ever to reach a Grand Slam semifinal.Ā
Entering Tuesday, Arab players were 0-11 in Grand Slam quarterfinals.Ā
Ons Jabeur becomes the first Arab or North African player – man or woman – to reach a Grand Slam semi-final.
The Tunisian world No.2 beats Maria Bouzkova 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 to set up a Wimbledon last-four clash with her good friend Tatjana Maria.
Arabs were 0-11 in GS QFs.
ā Reem Abulleil (@ReemAbulleil) July 5, 2022
Last year, Jabeur suffered a defeat to Aryna Sabalenka in the Wimbledon quarterfinal.Ā
In 2020 – in her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal – Jabeur lost to Sofia Kenin at the Australian Open.Ā
“I was hoping that I could get to this stage for a long time already. I struggled few times in the quarterfinal,” Jabeur said after the match, per the WTA website. “I was talking a little bit to Hicham Arazi (former four-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist from Morocco), and he told me, ‘Arabs always lose in the quarterfinals and we are sick of it. Please break this.’ I was, like, ‘I’ll try, my friend,’ We were just texting, and he was really happy. He was, like, ‘Thank you for finally making the semifinal. Now you can really go and get the title.'”
Jabeur praises Tatjana Maria
Maria, 34, returned from her second maternity leave 12 months ago.Ā
103th-ranked Maria is enjoying her absolutely best-ever Grand Slam run as on Tuesday she defeated Jule Niemeier 4-6 6-2 7-5 to reach the Wimbledon semifinal.Ā
En route to reaching the Wimbledon semifinal, Maria defeated Niemeier, Astra Sharma, Sorana Cirstea, Maria Sakkari and Jelena Ostapenko.Ā
“It’s so nice to see her with her babies on tour. The fact that she really came back and did everything and, really, she deserves to be here,” Jabeur said. “She had a really tough draw, winning against Ostapenko, winning against Sakkari. Really, she played really good. I know she could play really good on grass.”
Jabeur owns a 2-1 head-to-head record versus Maria but she certainly won’t be taking the German for granted when they meet on Thursday.