Ons Jabeur came from a set down, vomited right after earning her first match point, and clinched a spectacular 5-7 6-3 6-2 victory over Garbine Muguruza in the third round of Wimbledon.
Playing on Centre Court for the first time, seed No.21 Jabeur overcame a nervous start and put constant pressure on the 2017 Wimbledon champion Muguruza with a mixture of forehands, drop shots and slices. The 11th-seeded Spaniard kept up with Jabeur’s aggression, moved all the time, and saved 24 out of 29 break points.
The thrilling match had just as dramatic ending. At 5-2 40-30 in the decider, Jabeur earned her first match point. Probably because of the nerves, Jabeur threw up in the corner of the court and immediately got back to the baseline as if nothing had happened. The Tunisian didn’t convert that match point, but shortly afterwards converted her second one to become the first Arab woman to reach the second week of Wimbledon.
This is the most memorable period of Jabeur’s career, as two weeks ago the 26-year-old won her maiden WTA title on the grass of Birmingham.
Jabeur’s fourth-round opponent will be 2020 French Open champion Iga Swiatek, who has also reached this stage of Wimbledon for the first time. The seventh-seeded Swiatek wasted just 55 minutes to beat Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu 6-1 6-0. (photo: Jimmie48)
Ons Jabeur has vomited on the court (or behind it) a few times in stressful situations. She did it in losing to Veronika Kudermetova on the green clay at Charleston, South Carolina in the finals. Even the great Pete Sampras would get a queasy stomach during a tight match and do some vomiting. This was at the 1996 US Open against Alex Corretja in a 5th set tiebreak which Pete valiantly won. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UDi5RE06R8
Jim, thanks for sharing these insights. It was impressive to watch how quickly she recovered and behaved as if nothing had happened. And she vomited a lot.