The Tunisian is gunning for the stars at SW19. By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday July 5, 2021
After her breathtaking comeback win over Iga Swiatek on Monday at Wimbledon, Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur says she’s not settling for quarterfinals—she wants more.
Jabeur became the first Arab woman to ever reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal in 2020 at the Australian Open, and a few weeks ago she was the first Arab woman to win a WTA title when she triumphed at Birmingham.
This week, when she reached her first Wimbledon quarterfinal with a 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 takedown of Iga Swiatek, she admitted she believes she can do more this time around.
“This time is different,” Jabeur said, comparing her two Grand Slam quarterfinals. “This time I been going to the second week almost every Grand Slam right now, being more consistent. So I think everybody was kind of expecting me to be in the second week.
“Like I said, my goal is to break this quarterfinal and be able to go to semi, and why not the final? I'm enjoying my time here in Wimbledon, enjoying the grass a lot. Next round is not going to be easy so I have to be ready for it.”
"Did she really do that?!"
Just one of the many world-class plays from @Ons_Jabeur 💫#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/7pNbFOhvOs
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 5, 2021
Jabeur has “All the Skills” on Grass
Swiatek pointed out that Jabeur does a lot of things well on the grass surface, including serve, return and touch. She’s the complete package.
“I mean, she just has all the skills to play on grass, and that's great,” she said. “She can close the net and she's pretty confident at it. I feel like first set it was just a great game and really like on the edge sometimes. So even though I won it, I knew that she's gonna play well in next sets and it's gonna be tough. Yeah, I think she just has a flow, as well. She's using all the skills that she has. Yeah, it's working out well for her.”
Jabeur was able to break Swiatek’s serve seven times on Monday—the Pole had been broken just four times during three rounds in week one.
“She has great returns, so if someone is serving really well, it's like taking your biggest weapon,” she said. “I felt today that even when I was serving pretty fast, she was like not blocking, she was giving me [returns] even faster. That was pretty frustrating.”
Jabeur: I Try to Have the Whole Package
Jabeur says she works hard on having a well-rounded game. The touch is there if it is needed, and so is the power.
“I try to have the whole package of having the dropshot, the slices, being aggressive at the same time,” she said. “You never know. You play against players, sometimes you have to change the rhythm to make them feel bad. Sometimes you have to be aggressive to also try to win the point.”
