By Erik Gudris | @atntennis | Sunday, June 2, 2024
Rising to the occasion.
That appears to be the mission for 29-year-old Ons Jabeur who finds herself back in the Roland Garros quarterfinals for a second straight year.
The No. 8 seeded Tunisian enjoyed a 6-4 6-4 win over a tough opponent in Denmark’s Clara Tauson. With the victory, Jabeur secured her place into the Paris last eight for a second straight year.
Next up for Jabeur is anticipated meeting with No. 3 seed Coco Gauff.
More: Gauff Flies into Roland Garros Last Eight
The 21-year-old Tauson, playing in her first career major fourth round, kept things close with Jabeur throughout the match.
Yet it was Jabeur’s ability to draw Tauson into net that frustrated her opponent all match long. Jabeur brought Tauson into the net 28 times, yet the Dane only won half of those points. Many times after Jabeur hit a sterling winner, Tauson could only smile in recognition of her opponent’s talent.
Before Paris, it’s been a tough season for Jabeur who entered with a subpar 7-9 match record and also dealing with several physical issues.
“I’m very happy with the way I'm playing right now. To be honest with you, I've been practicing really well since the beginning of the year. Maybe not losing any, like, match practice sets or anything, but yeah, during the matches was not that great,” Jabeur said in her press conference. "So it was a bit frustrating at the beginning, but I think the hard work is paying off. I just had to be patient and be ready for moments like this, for moments to be in a quarterfinal on a Grand Slam.”
The talented Tunisian, who has reached three major finals, is finding her form again. And that’s much to the delight of the fans, including Tunisians who are supporting her this tournament. Jabeur took time to serenade them during her on-court interview.
“I’m regretting now (laughing). I don't know. I felt like the crowd was singing the whole match. I felt like singing with them,” Jabeur said afterwards when asked about the song. I think most Tunisians know this song. It's, like, it's incredible, it's step by step to the final. Something like this. It's a mix of I think Arabic, French, and Italian.
Jabeur next faces Gauff in a rematch of the 2021 Roland Garros quarterfinals that Gauff won in straight sets. Gauff currently leads the overall head to head 4-2, yet Jabeur is looking forward to the challenge.
“I love how Coco plays, and I love how Coco talks in general. I think she's really mature for her age. She's really an amazing person as well. It's going to be definitely a difficult match. She's such a fighter, you know, on the court. I hope I can play good and I can play my game because I know I can bother her as well. But it's going to be definitely a great fight between us.”
Photo Credit: Mateo Villalba/Getty