Martina Navratilova confident Ons Jabeur can disrupt Iga Swiatek’s dominance in 2023
Martina Navratilova reveals Ons Jabeur would successfully dominate the WTA Tour while ending Iga Swiatek's supremacy in the upcoming season.
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Martina Navratilova, Ons Jabeur and Iga Swiatek - FirstSportz
World No 2 Ons Jabeur has been one of the breakthrough performers of the year. She reached the finals of two Grand Slam tournaments of the year. Though she couldn’t win in both major finals, she has successfully cemented her place among the elites. Martina Navratilova claims that the Tunisian player can disrupt Iga Swiatek‘s dominance on the Tour in the coming years.
Jabeur became the current No. 1 Tunisian player and the highest-ranked African and Arab player in tennis history. She even became the first Tunisian player to reach the finals of a Grand Slam tournament in the Open Era. But the 28-year-old lost to Elena Rybakina in her debut major finals where both were fighting for their maiden Grand Slam title.
Former American legend Navratilova heaped in praises for the 3 WTA titles winner. The retired tennis player acknowledged her variety of playing skills since she is impressed with Jaber’s energy. She further stated that Wimbledon finalist has the power to give tough competition to the World No 1.
“She reached the final at both Wimbledon and the US Open. With so many people looking up to her, this takes a lot of effort to handle that pressure. She has good energy and the variety to frustrate her opponents. But now she needs to take that next step and come up big during the most pressure moments. If she can do that, Jabeur is someone who has the overall game and mindset to disrupt Swiatek’s dominance,” said Martina Navratilova during an interview.
Ons Jabeur’s 2022 season
She started the year ranked inside the Top 10 WTA rankings. She reached the quarter-finals of most of the WTA tournaments. Jabeur won the title at the Madrid Open defeating Jessica Pegula. She also won the Grass Court Championship after Belinda Bencic withdrew during the finals.
Ons Jabeur faced Swiatek three times in the year. While twice was during the major finals, the other time was at the Italian Open finals. But, it was the Polish player who won all three times. Also, it was the Arab’s debut campaign at the 2022 WTA Finals but failed to go past the group stage. It was one of her best seasons since she ended the year as World No 2.
World No 2 has been bestowed with the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award at the 2022 WTA Awards. She has been adjudged for her gracious nature on and off the court. For a spectacular 2022 season, she has been voted as the Arab Sports Personality.
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Prateek Pradhan
(601 Articles Published)