July 05, (THEWILL) – The impressive tennis that has seen Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur light up the grass courts of Wimbledon 2021 continued on Monday as she made history with a sensational comeback victory over last year’s French Open champion Iga Swiatek, that she took in three sets 5-7 6-1 6-1.
On the notably spectacular “Manic Monday”, which is the day after mid-tournament Sunday break of the All England Club competition, Wimbledon’s 21st seed overcame Swiatek after losing a close first set to make it into her debut Wimbledon quarter-final stage.
What she did after conceding the first set 5-7 was a remarkable example of a turnaround against another one of female tennis rising stars and a former clay court Grand Slam winner. Jabeur took absolute command of the winning two sets, allowing Swiatek only two games in both combined.
There was no way anyone saw that outcome coming especially with the way the first set went. The Tunisian was not expected to overpower Wimbledon’s seventh seed in that fashion after Swiatek’s impressive showing at SW19.
Yet, that was exactly what the Tunisian did, dispatching her Polish opponent with fierce ground strokes and altogether solid service play, powerful returns while keeping her unforced errors in check throughout to roar back for a memorable victory.
Jabeur’s triumph means she continues to rewrite tennis history for herself, her country and her region. By winning on Monday, she makes it into the quarter-finals as the first ever Arab woman to reach the quarter-finals of the grass-court Grand Slam of the All England Club.
She has now garnered a reputation as a player that sends former major champions home. Swiatek will be her third so far after claiming the scalps of two former Wimbledon winners in Garbine Muguruza and Venus Williams.
The display against Swiatek in those final sets were phenomenal work by Jabeur because Swiatek’s rising profile has seen her listed as only one of five players, men and women, to have reached the second week of all three Grand Slams this year. Yet, after the first set, she could barely keep up with Jabeur’s shots.
The Tunisian will seek to continue her remarkable progress at SW19 when she meets world number four and second seed Aryna Sabalenka. The Belarusian needed three sets as well to defeat Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, 6-3 4-6 6-3, to set up this meeting with Jabeur.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
