Jabeur crushes Kvitova to set up rematch of 2022 final with Rybakina

LONDON: Ons Jabeur set up a quarter-final repeat of last year’s Wimbledon showpiece against Elena Rybakina after crushing out-of-sorts former champion Petra Kvitova 6-0 6-3 in a Centre Court demolition job on Monday (Jul 10).

Tunisian sixth seed Jabeur had to come from a set down against Bianca Andreescu on Saturday but had no such problems on a blustery afternoon as she raced through the first set in 22 minutes, almost unchallenged.

Her crowd-pleasing variety of slice and change of pace and angle left the 2011 and 2014 champion flailing. The ninth-seeded Czech had the briefest of recoveries in the second set but it did not last and Jabeur finished off in style, breaking to love.

Third-seeded Kazakh Rybakina, who beat Jabeur in three sets in last year’s final, went through after Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia retired at 4-1 down in the first set with a back injury.