LONDON | In her native Tunisia, she is nicknamed the “Minister of Happiness”. Her smile and zest for life seem so genuine that her rivals never hesitate to praise her personality in a sport where friendships are rare. She is the most popular player among women.
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But for a year there was no joy in Ons Jabeur’s heart as she thought back to the Wimbledon final she lost to Elena Rybakina.
“I never got to watch the whole game. “It was very, very difficult for me,” said Jabeur on Wednesday. […] Even watching the episode on Netflix was painful.”
Except now they are a thing of the past, those images of Jabeur defeated in his chair on the mythical center after leading a round to nothing in his first appearance in the final of a Grand Slam tournament against the mighty Kazakh. In fact, she was the first African woman to reach the final of a major tournament.
In Wednesday’s quarterfinals, the sixth-seeded team got their big revenge by defeating third-seeded Rybakina 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-1.
Photo: AFP
Paid chair change
Jabeur took no chances. In order not to experience the same nightmare, the sixth favorite in particular changed chairs early in the game.
“I sat in the chair she had when she won and smiled the one who defeated Canada’s Bianca Andreescu in the third round. Maybe it was the chair that gave me the win.”
Ons Jabeur in the famous ‘winner’ chair in central Wimbledon, Wednesday. Photo: AFP
We’re more inclined to think that big wins shape careers, but so do big losses, and that in a way that’s true of the 28-year-old player who didn’t really see his true heyday until late, when she was two.
She is not the same
Because after that heartbreaking setback in the All England final, there was a setback in Flushing Meadows two months later against Poland’s Iga Swiatek (“Thank you for reminding me,” she said to the journalist who asked him about it).
And today, Jabeur admits that she’s not the same athlete anymore.
“I have no regrets about this finale,” she explained, though she couldn’t see it in full. What would piss me off is if I hadn’t changed anything since then, but I did. And it worked very well for me.”
“I don’t regret this game”
Jabeur was also not on site as Minister of Happiness on Wednesday. According to our own analysis, the depreciation was not distributed as usual. Instead, she used Rybakina’s power to her advantage.
Photo: AFP
And when she won the second set after losing the first set she said she should have won, she had the piercing gaze of a conqueror.
“I learned a lot from the game last year. […] “But I have no regrets about this match,” she repeated. Victory wasn’t for me that day. She was more like [ce mercredi]in the quarterfinals.
This time it is yes
And the pictures of this revenge against Rybakina, which gives him his ticket to the four aces and a confrontation with Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, the second favorite (from Thursday), will she see them this time?
“I can watch this game, yes. No problem,” Jabeur started, obviously… with a grin.