Ons Jabeur believes dethroning Iga Swiatek will work as an additional motivation in 2023
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Ons Jabeur, Iga Świątek
World No1 Iga Swiatek had an almost unchallenged season in 2022. Overall she won eight titles and consolidated her ranking by securing almost double the points of No 2 Ons Jabeur. Jabeur has now opened up about how the domination of Swiatek makes the sport overall more competitive.
Tunisian star Jabeur created a thrilling on-court rivalry with Iga Swiatek in the 2022 season. The top-ranked Arab player was the only one to challenge the dominance of the Pole as was seen in the encounter between the two in the US Open final. As the next season of tennis has started, Jabeur believes dethroning Iga will be a great motivation.
Jabeur compared Swiatek’s performance with now-retired Ashleigh Barty. “With Iga’s result, she gave us a lot of confidence to go after her and that’s competitive, which is good because Ash was doing that, and now Iga’s doing the same thing,” she said.
“I just like the idea of not knowing who’s going to win. I feel like it’s been the same. When you play a top-10 player, it’s always tough to beat. We’re always trying to maintain at that level,” Jabeur further added.
Will Ons Jabeur disrupt Iga Swiatek’s run in 2023
Tunisian player Ons Jabeur is the player who has the skills to disrupt Iga Swiatek’s unbridled march in 2023. Tennis legend Martina Navratilova is one of the experts believing in Jabeur. “Jabeur is someone who has the overall game and mindset to disrupt Swiatek’s dominance,” she recently said about Jabeur.
In the 2022 US Open, the World No. 2 came close to scoring a win against the Pole. Eventually, she lost to Swiatek by 2-6, 6-7 in a thrilling final. Earlier in the Italian Open too, Jabeur fell short against her Polish rival.
In the head-to-head Jabeur is just one short of Swiatek as the record favors Swiatek 3-2. Jabeur will look to improve her record against Swiatek in 2023. This season the two times Grand Slam finalist Jabeur will definitely try to go the extra mile to clinch her maiden title.
Related: “I have the inner fire,” Holger Rune envisions himself winning the 2023 Australian Open
Related: List of tennis players who retired in 2022
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Abhinavendu Singh
(290 Articles Published)