By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday May 14, 2022
Most players would be scared of facing Iga Swiatek in the Rome final. The Pole, who double-bageled Karolina Pliskova, is currently riding a 27-match winning streak and has been virtually unplayable since February.
But Ons Jabeur, who won her 11th consecutive match on Saturday by saving a match point against Daria Kasatkina at Rome, says she will approach the final with belief.
“I think tomorrow for me personally, it's going to be about believing in myself that I can win tomorrow,” she said, before adding that she’ll have to fight through the fatigue to have that belief. “I know I had a lot of matches that are played lately, back-to-back matches. It's not like playing Indian Wells, Miami, you have a day off and everything. So physically it's going to be very tough for me.”
But Jabeur is 17-2 on clay this season and at a career-high ranking. She can reach the Top-5 if she upsets Swiatek on Sunday and she knows that if you can dream it you can do it. That has been pretty much her script over the last two seasons, so why change now?
“I know that mentality could overcome a lot of things,” she said. “Playing Iga, someone that didn't lose a match since ever, I think that was maybe [what was] missing [from] the other players to believe more that they can beat her. She was playing unbelievable, I believe, in Miami-Indian Wells. Now she's playing great. She's a human being. People should know that.
“I'm ready for the battle. I want to win tomorrow. It's the finals. It's not a first round or second round, it's the final.”