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Wimbledon: Ons Jabeur enters maiden final, beats Tatjana Maria 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
The Tunisian made a brilliant comeback after losing the second set to enter the final of women's singles.
Tunisia's Ons Jabeur entered the final of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships on Thursday, beating Tatjana Maria of Germany 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. This is Jabeur's maiden appearance in a Grand Slam final.
The Tunisian is the first Arab woman to reach a major final and the first African woman to do so in the Open era. The third-seeded Jabeur will face either 2019 Wimbledon champion Simona Halep or 17th-seeded Elena Rybakina in Saturday’s final.
In the deciding set, Jabeur twice broke her 34-year-old German opponent — who was a first-time Grand Slam semifinalist — en route to 5-0 lead.
Maria was forced to save three break points in the first game of the match, and further failed to resist the Tunisian as she dropped serve in third and the seventh games. Jabeur sealed the opening set with a backhand log against the German Maria.
The 103-ranked Maria, however, refused to hand the victory easily to the opponent she calls ‘family’, as she broke early in the second set to take a 3-1 lead. She eventually held on to the lead to win 6-3 before Jabeur made a brilliant comeback in the decider.
The Tunisian finally lived up to her world number two billing to run away with the third set and set up a final showdown with either Romania's 16th-seeded 2019 champion Simona Halep or Russian-born Kazakh 17th seed Elena Rybakina.
This was Maria’s 35th appearance at a major tournament, and the 103rd-ranked player had never been beyond the third round previously.
The 27-year-old Jabeur and Maria are good friends — “barbecue buddies,” as the Tunisian said.
