Jabeur reaches Wimbledon quarterinal again, sets ‘very high’ goals

WIMBLEDON, England: She headed the ball. She flicked it up with her feet. Ons Jabeur is having fun, and she’s winning.

The Tunisian, who at No. 3 is the highest-remaining women’s seed, advanced to her second straight Wimbledon quarterfinal with a 7-6 (9), 6-4 victory over Elize Mertens on No. 1 Court on Sunday.

“It’s my kind of thing to express a little bit my stress during the match, doing funny things with the football or anything just helps me connect with the crowd,” Jabeur said of her ball skills, like when she chased down and headed away a lob from Mertens that went long. “Be myself on the court really is very, very important.”

The 27-year-old Jabeur saved five set points in the tiebreaker — the closest she’s come to dropping a set through four matches. She improved to 9-0 this season on grass, which includes winning the Berlin Open last month.

Just over a year ago, she became the first Arab woman to win a singles title on the elite women’s tennis tour when she lifted the trophy in Birmingham — also a grass-court tournament.

“I love playing on grass, I love the connection between the nature and me, so hopefully it will continue this way for me and maybe through the finals,” Jabeur said.

Shaking off the disappointment of a first-round loss at the French Open, Jabeur’s goals are “very high” at the All England Club.

“No matter who’s coming, I’m going to build the fight, I’m going to fight till the end because I really want the title,” said Jabeur, who has never reached a Grand Slam semifinal.

Up next is unseeded Czech player Marie Bouzkova, who advanced to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal by beating Caroline Garcia of France 7-5, 6-2.

Simona Halep is the last Grand Slam champion standing on the women’s