Ons Jabeur staying 'realistic' after Dubai title chances increase on day of upsets

Ons Jabeur insisted she is will not put any “unnecessary pressure” on herself as the last seeded player remaining in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships draw.

On a day of upsets, Tunisian eighth seed Jabeur avoided the same fate with an impressive 6-3, 6-1 victory over American Jessica Pegula. Jabeur's ranking installs her as one of the favourites for the title and raises hopes of an Arabic champion, but having only just returned from a back injury that forced her to miss the Australian Open, the world No 10 was keen to downplay expectations.

“I'm going to take every match slowly,” Jabeur, 27, said. “I came back from an injury, so I want to be realistic with myself. My main goal is to be healthy and win matches. Every match I win is a bonus.

“The season is still long. I don't want to put unnecessary pressure on myself. I don't want to be disappointed after. For now it's working well for me. Hopefully I can continue like that.”

While Jabeur is being “realistic”, that shouldn't be mistaken for a lack of motivation. “Of course [I want to win the title]. Who doesn't want to win? Especially me in Dubai or Qatar, it's amazing. I really want to win a WTA title one of these days here.”

Jabeur produced an inconsistent performance in her three-set win over Russia's Vera Zvonareva in the first round, so her display against Pegula marked a significant improvement.

"I'm really happy with the way I played,” she said. “I wasn't expecting that at all, especially after yesterday's match. I'm glad that I kept it short, not a three-setter. This gives me a lot of confidence for next match, for sure.”

As the leading Arab tennis player, Jabeur always enjoys huge support in Dubai and Wednesday was no different, with Tunisians turning out