Ons Jabeur fights back against Marie Bouzkova to reach historic semi-final

Ons Jabeur broke yet more ground for Arab and North African tennis when she beat Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 to reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon on Tuesday.

The No 3 seed, who lost at the same stage 12 months ago, recovered brilliantly from the loss of the first set to reach her first grand slam semi-final. At the age of 27, she is peaking at the right time. “I’m really, really happy, especially that it happened on this court because I have so much love for this court,” Jabeur said. “Hopefully the journey for me will continue”.

The journey has been a long one, from precocious junior to a player who took a while to find her feet on the WTA Tour. Blessed with incredible hands, beautiful touch and an uncanny feel for the game, she has carried Arab and African tennis on her shoulders, with pride and more recently, with a renewed responsibility. With responsibility comes pressure, but as she has grown into her role, so the results have flowed.

Her win over Bouzkova, which sets up a semi-final against the unseeded German, Tatjana Maria, was her 10th straight grass-court win, having won the warm-up event on grass in Berlin. When Bouzkova, chasing everything down and playing smart, bold tennis, took the first set, Jabeur took a breath. It was the first set she had lost at this year’s event and she might have feared the worst. But she found her rhythm and pulled away for a convincing victory.

“I knew she was going to come and really make me work to win a point, she’s a really talented player,” Jabeur said. “I’m really happy I woke up in the second set and played much better after that.”

Finding a solution when she’s in trouble is something Jabeur has worked hard on with her sports psychologist, Melanie