In a repeat of last year’s Wimbledon final, Ons Jabeur rallied from a set down to eliminate defending champion Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals of The Championships, 6-7(5) 6-4 6-1.
The sixth-seeded Jabeur recovered from 1-3 to 3-3 at the start of the match and held a set point serving at 6-5, but Rybakina broke back right away and edged the first set in a tiebreak. The Kazakhstani has won a Tour-leading 12 tiebreak sets this year.
From 4-4 in the second set, Jabeur won five games in a row to force a deciding set and establish a commanding 3-0 lead in it. The Tunisian dropped just one more game in the remainder of the match, as Rybakina never recovered, lost her serve once more and fell on the first match point.
At Wimbledon 2022, Jabeur became the first Arab player to reach a Grand Slam final. Her semifinal opponent this time around will be second seed Aryna Sabalenka, who will be playing not only for her first Wimbledon final but also for the No.1 WTA ranking. The other women’s singles semifinal will be contested between Elina Svitolina and Marketa Vondrousova.
