Ons Jabeur reaches her second Wimbledon semi-final, knocks out Rybakina
Sixth seed Ons Jabeur reached the semi-final of 2023 Wimbledon after beating third seed and defending champion Elena Rybakina on July 12. The former claimed a 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-1 win after over an hour at Court 1. Notably, Jabeur, who lost the 2022 Wimbledon final to Rybakina, finally takes her revenge. The former will now vie for her maiden Grand Slam title.
A look at the match stats
Jabeur won a total of 74 points and 17 winners in the match. She struck fewer aces (2) than that of Rybakina (5). The former had a win percentage of 75 and 52 in the first and second serves, respectively. She won 49% of the receiving points. Notably, Rybakina covered a distance of 1,535.8 meters throughout the match.
Jabeur avenges her loss!
After beating Petra Kvitova, Jabeur had set a rematch with Rybakina, who beat her in the 2022 Wimbledon final. It was Jabeur's maiden Grand Slam final. She became the first African woman and the first Arab or North African player in the Open Era to play a Grand Slam singles final. Jabeur now has a 3-2 lead over Rybakina (WTA head-to-head series).
Her form in 2023
Jabeur has claimed a solitary title in 2023. She defeated defending champion Belinda Bencic 7-6(6), 6-4 to win the 2023 Charleston Open in April. The title was the fourth honor of Jabeur's career, besides her second on clay. Bencic had earlier won 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 against Jabeur in the 2022 Charleston Open final. Jabeur will now look to secure her second title this year.
Jabeur attains these feats
Jabeur has become the first player to reach successive semi-finals at Wimbledon since legend Serena Williams (2018-2019). As per Opta, the former is only the second player in 2023 to win a women's singles Grand Slam quarter-final after losing the first set. Beatriz Haddad Maia is the only other player with this feat, having lost the first set to Jabeur at the French Open.
