Author: Barkha Roy
Ons Jabeur, the No. 6 seed, showed her resilience and determination as she fought her way to a hard-fought 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3 victory over No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka on Centre Court. This earned Jabeur a place in his third career Grand Slam final and his second consecutive final at the All England Club. Sabalenka initially took control of the match, leading by a set and a break at 7-6(5), 4-2, after recovering from a 4-2 deficit in the tiebreak of the first set. This put her on the verge of reaching her second major final and securing the world number one spot.
ONS-TOPPABLE 🇹🇳@Ons_Jabeur produces a stunning comeback against No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka to reach the ladies’ final, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3 🙌#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/cFSnkIn55Y
– Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 13, 2023
However, Jabeur proved remarkably resilient as she snuffed out two of Sabalenka’s chances to secure a 5-3 lead. She then broke Sabalenka’s serve for the first time in the match, completely changing the course of the game. Jabeur won four consecutive games in the second set and broke Sabalenka in the sixth game of the deciding set, completing a stunning comeback.
The victory wasn’t easy for Jabeur, as she needed five match points to secure the win. Sabalenka managed to save two match points on her own serve in the eighth game and, although Jabeur missed two more chances for a 40-0 lead in the last game, she eventually secured the win with a well-placed ace. The match lasted 2 hours and 19 minutes, and Jabeur’s ace in the last game was her first in the set and only her third in the entire match, in contrast to Sabalenka’s ten.
Jabeur’s achievement of reaching back-to-back finals at Wimbledon makes her the first woman since Serena Williams in 2018-19 to do so. Remarkably, Williams lost both finals, and Jabeur now aims to avoid a similar fate as she prepares to face Marketa Vondrousova in the next final on Saturday.
Marketa Vondrousova is a #Wimbledon finalist 👏
The 24-year-old defeats Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-3 to reach her second Grand Slam final pic.twitter.com/zcGBtItA0L
– Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 13, 2023
Vondrousova booked her place in the final with an impressive 6-3, 6-3 win over Elina Svitolina in the semi-finals. In the match between the two players, the left-handed Vondrousova showed her skills and won in just 1 hour and 15 minutes. It’s worth noting that Svitolina took part in only her second Grand Slam event since returning from maternity leave in April.