“That’s what got me started, ” Ons Jabeur reveals her success mantra after her spectacular comeback win over Maria Sakkari


“That’s what got me started, ” Ons Jabeur reveals her success mantra after her spectacular comeback win over Maria Sakkari

Ons Jabeur

No.9 seed Tunisian Ons Jabeur came back from a set down to reach her maiden Internazionali BNL d’Italia semifinal, defeating Greece’s Maria Sakkari 1-6, 7-5, 6-1. Jabeur, the Madrid champion of last week, was down 6-1, 5-2 before coming back to win her nine straight wins. Jabeur was two points away from ending her career-best winning streak at many stages in the second set. In just over two hours of play, though, the Tunisian guided her way back to victory.

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With 16 victories on clay so far in 2022, Jabeur maintains her position as the tour-level clay-court win leader. Jabeur also reached the Charleston final and the Stuttgart quarterfinals in addition to winning her maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid. Jabeur has won 24 tour-level matches this season across all surfaces, which is the second-most on the circuit. Iga Swiatek, the world No. 1, has won the most matches on the tour this year, with 33.

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“It’s not easy to play Maria”- Ons Jabeur

Ons Jabeur | Tennis News | FirstSportz
Ons Jabeur

Maria Sakkari started off the match with a 3-0 run and went on to win the opening set 6-1. On her opponent’s second serve, Sakkari caused the brunt of the damage. Sakkari dominated on her own serve, surrendering only a few points in the first set and the first half of the second. In the second set, Jabeur served better, but she simply could not recover from a 2-5 deficit. She rushed and attempted to strike winners from tough situations, but it did not work out.

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At 5-2 and again at 5-4, Sakkari failed to serve it out. She fell from a 5-2 lead to a 5-6 deficit, and she lost her service once more to lose the match 5-7. Sakkari completely collapsed in the final set, losing 6-1. Jabeur made an incredible comeback, but she had a lot of help from WTA’s choker extraordinaire Maria Sakkari.

In my head at 5-2, I said, “You cannot finish those two weeks, those amazing almost three weeks, like this,” Ons Jabeur said afterwards. “That’s what got me started. I’m very happy that I could get the win at the end. “It’s not easy to play Maria, no? I know she hits really hard. I couldn’t find my rhythm at the beginning. But I’m glad with a little bit experience that I have, I could pull off the win,” she added.

Also Read: “26 and counting” Iga Swiatek continues on her winning run to enter the semifinal in Rome

Also Read: “She seems motivated,” Andy Roddick picks Ons Jabeur as his second favourite to win the Roland Garros after Iga Swiatek

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