“I had to feel the stress of a final” Ons Jabeur ready for a Grand Slam title after winning the Madrid Open
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Ons Jabeur
Newly crowned World No. 7 Ons Jabeur had the best couple of weeks in Madrid as the Tunisian became the first Arab woman to win a WTA-1000 title as she defeated Jessica Pegula 7-5, 0-6, 6-2 to win the 2022 Madrid Open, her second career title and the biggest so far.
This was Jabeur’s sixth WTA final and coming with a 1-4 record in the finals, it was an emotional rollercoaster for her as after a hard-fought battle she was able to claim the first set but was not able to close the match out in straight-sets as Pegula made a fantastic comeback and dropped a bagel on Jabeur forcing a decider. With many believing Ons had lost the plot in the finals yet again, she held her fort and came out stronger to win the final set and get the title.
“It was tough coming to this match. I knew Jess would play really well. I was hoping that she would be a little bit stressed. But she was showing great tennis from the beginning. I had my opportunities to break her from the beginning. And then I was 1-4 in the first set. But for me, in my head, it was just one break. I knew I was playing good, I just had to get that point somehow.
“After winning the first set, I thought, “OK, you have to close it right now.” We’ve seen this scenario so many times and I think the first game kind of played with my head because I had my opportunity to break her, but then it wasn’t going my way. She was playing great and I really felt like crying in the second set because I was like, “This is not happening, this cannot be happening again.”
“And the third set, I just tried to change the momentum. I tried to play each point, each game and focus. I am really happy and relieved that I got the win because honestly, I don’t think my heart could support another disappointment. I had to go through this. I had to win against great players. I had to feel the stress of the final to be able to achieve my dream and win a Grand Slam,” said Ons speaking with WTA Insider.
Ons Jabeur rises in the Race to WTA Finals
With the brilliant win in Madrid, Ons replaces World No. 2 Paula Badosa in the race for WTA Finals. With the 1000 points, Ons is now second with 1925 points trailing Iga Swiatek who continues to be in the pole position with 4390 points to her name. Ons had narrowly missed out on playing at the WTA Finals last season but now looks certain to make it to the Year-End Championships this year.
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)