Ons Jabeur reaches maiden grand slam final at Wimbledon with victory against Tatjana Maria

By George Ramsay, CNN

Updated 1520 GMT (2320 HKT) July 7, 2022

Jabeur celebrates defeating Tatjana Maria in the Wimbledon semifinals.

(CNN)Ons Jabeur reached her first grand slam final with a 6-2 3-6 6-1 victory against Tatjana Maria at Wimbledon on Thursday.

Tunisia's Jabeur had already made history at this year's Wimbledon as the first Arab or North African woman to compete in the semifinals of a grand slam, and she went a step further with a battling victory against Maria. The third seed, who has only dropped two sets in the tournament, breezed through the first set after securing a double break of serve, but Maria used her slice to good effect and responded with a break to take the second set.With the match level, Jabeur gained the upper hand with a break at the start of the third set, then followed it up with another at 3-0 as Maria sent a simple forehand volley long.Tatjana Maria is enjoying a 'dream' Wimbledon run 15 months after the birth of her second childFrom there, the match was all but sewn up, and Jabeur completed the victory on her second of three match points after Maria returned into the net. Read More«I'm a proud Tunisian woman standing here today,» Jabeur, who will face either Simona Halep or Elena Rybakina in the final on Saturday, said in her on-court interview, «and I know in Tunisia they're going crazy right now.»I just try to inspire really as much as I can. I want to see more and more, not just Tunisian, but Arab and African players on tour. I just love the game and I want to share this experience with them."Jabeur and Maria are close friends and shared a long embrace at the net at the end of the match. As the crowd applauded the two players, Jabeur dragged Maria back onto the court and gestured