New Delhi: Tunisian tennis player Ons Jabeur beat Australian player Ajla Tomljanović 6-4, 7-6 (4) in straight sets of the women’s quarterfinals of the US Open 2022 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, Flushing Meadows, New York, on Wednesday, September 07, 2022.
Jabeur took charge of the match early in the opening set with her forehand. She made long rallies and saved breakpoints to win the opener 6-4, despite a few unforced errors.
Meanwhile, Tomljanović gained momentum in the second set. She took charge of the final set and charged mercilessly at her opponent, who was trailing 5-3.
However, Jabeur did not give in and pushed the match into a decider. She eventually took a break lead before winning the set 7-6 (4) and ultimately the match.
On the other hand, Tomljanović displayed a spectacular game in the quarterfinals as well as in the tournament. She defeated ace player Serena Williams in the Arthur Ashe Stadium in what was likely to become the last match of the American’s career.
She even won against Russian player Liudmila Samsonova and ascertained herself as one of the strongest female players, with her excellent shot tolerance, depth and her ability to both soak up pace and counter.
Talking about winning the quarterfinals and progressing in the semis, Jabeur said, “I think the fact that I broke that barrier of being in the quarterfinals all the time- that did help with my confidence. Knowing that I could make finals in grand slams really helped my game, just trying to build that experience to go into second weeks in grand slams.”
Though the World No.2 was the Wimbledon finalist this year, she is now eyeing the Grand Slam. The Tunisian will face French player Caroline Garcia in the US Open 2022 semifinals.
(Avya Mathur)
