Ons Jabeur denies Aryna Sabalenka the shot at Iga Swiatek’s World No. 1 rank as she beats the Belarusian in the Wimbledon semis

Aryna Sabalenka succumbs to Ons jabeur's relentless efforts as she Tunisian stages an epic comeback to win the semi-final clash at the 2023 Wimbledon.

Ons Jabeur denies Aryna Sabalenka the shot at Iga Swiatek’s World No. 1 rank as she beats the Belarusian in the Wimbledon semis

Ons Jabeur (Credits: Middle East Eye)

It is the second Wimbledon finals in a row for Ons Jabeur who completely dazzled on the Centre Court today. Up against the in-form Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals, Jabeur came from a set down to win the match 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-3. The two seeds battled hard for 2 hours and 19 minutes before Jabeur came out on top.

The match was a repeat of their 2021 quarter-final clash where Sabalenka had emerged successful. The Belarusian however on to lose in the semis and was later banned from playing the 2022 edition. Back at the Major this year, she showed strong determination to reach the last-4 again but it is Jabeur who reaches the finals.

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Things looked almost over for Jabeur in the second set after losing a close first-set tiebreaker. She however rallied well from 2-4 down to win the next four games and snatch the second set from the World No. 2. The third set was no different as the two were not separated in the first four games. The first break of the set however came at 3-2 when after a long see-saw game and multiple dueces, Jabeur finally broke to make it 4-2.

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The Tunisian hero didn’t waste any time to make it 5-2 and put all the pressure on Sabalenka. Holding a match point at 40-30, Jabeur could not convert it as Sabalenka won the point to secure a deuce. Despite a double fault by Sabalenka, she defended another match point to delay the Tunisian’s win before winning the game to make it 5-3. Jabeur lost on a third and fourth match point as Sabalenka kept on fighting. 5th time was the charm as she sealed it with an ace.

Keep Exploring: Marketa Vondrousova ends Elina Svitolina’s fairytale run as she reaches maiden Wimbledon finals

Marketa Vondrousova stands between Ons Jabeur and the Wimbledon trophy

Ons Jabeur
Ons Jabeur (Credits: WTA)

Earlier in the day, Czech star Marketa Vondrousova got the better of Elina Svitolina in straight-sets to reach her maiden Wimbledon final. She became the first unseeded woman in the Open Era to reach the Wimbledon finals and the first since 1963. Svitolina‘s fairytale run as wildcard could last only till the semis.

The Ukrainian was lucky at times during her quarter-final win over Iga Swiatek and it looked like she ran out of it today. Despite six double faults from Marketa, Svitolina is the one who goes home first. As for Jabeur and Vondrousova, all eyes will be on the Venus Rosewater Dish when they meet on Saturday.

Vondrousova was the runner-up at the 2019 French Open losing to Ash Barty in the finals. As for Jabeur, she lost the Wimbledon and the US Open finals last year. With the experience of playing and losing in a Major final, Saturday’s finals promises to be an exciting clash for one of the biggest prizes in tennis.

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