Jabeur downs Maria to become first Arab in major tennis final

File Photo

Tunisia's Ons Jabeur lifted the spirits of an entire continent as she became the first Arab and first African woman to reach the Wimbledon final with a rousing 6-2 3-6 6-1 victory over her barbecue buddy Tatjana Maria on Thursday.

Before she stepped on court, American great Billie Jean King said Jabeur was "using tennis as a platform to help Tunisia, help Africa and help Arabs" and the 27-year-old did just that as she finally ended the remarkable run of mum-of-two Maria.

Maria, 34, was forced to save three break points in the opening game but was unable to prolong that resistance as she dropped serve in the third and seventh games before Jabeur sealed the opening set when the German smacked a backhand long.

However, the 103rd-ranked Maria refused to hand victory away on a platter to an opponent she calls "family" as she broke for a 3-1 lead in the second and held on to that advantage to draw level when the third seed sliced a backhand into the net.

Jabeur 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.

More from Sports News

  • Saka seals comeback with goal as Arsenal beat Fulham

    Arsenal beat Fulham 2-1 in the Premier League on Tuesday thanks to another goal from stand-in striker Mikel Merino while Bukayo Saka struck a few minutes into his return from nearly four months out with injury.

  • Manchester City striker Haaland suffers ankle injury

    Manchester City's Erling Haaland sustained an ankle injury in their FA Cup quarter-final at Bournemouth over the weekend, the Premier League club said on Monday, with the striker requiring further tests to determine the full extent of the injury.

  • Rory McIlroy battling injury with Masters approaching

    Rory McIlroy acknowledged he is dealing with an elbow injury as he prepares to head to Augusta for next week's Masters. The World No. 2 made a spirited run up the leaderboard at the Texas Children's Houston Open on Sunday, carding a 4-under 31 on the front nine that included an eagle.

  • Caitlin Clark sports card sets record after selling at auction

    WNBA star Caitlin Clark's 2024 Panini Prizm WNBA Signatures Gold Vinyl Prizm card, numbered 1-of-1, has set a record sale for a female sports card after going under the hammer for $366,000 (AED 1.3 million) at auction.

Blogs