Wimbledon 2024: Jabeur cruises into third round but Djokovic made to work against Fearnley

Ons Jabeur is safely through to the third round of Wimbledon after a straight sets 6-1, 7-5 victory over the American Robin Montgomery on Thursday.

Jabeur had defeated Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima 6-3, 6-1 in the first round and, after a briefly uncertain start against Montgomery, put her foot down to take the first set in convincing fashion before sealing progress after a more competitive second.

Jabeur took a 2-0 lead but was surprisingly broken in the third game. With Montgomery serving to level the match at 2-2, Jabeur then won a pivotal 15-point fourth game, finally taking her fourth break point and then romping away to a 6-1 advantage.

The crucial game of the second set was the 11th, when Jabeur scored another break and then served out the match.

Montgomery, 19, was looking for only her second Grand Slam main-draw victory but was outgunned by the No 10 seed, the runner-up at SW19 in 2022 and 2023.

Next up Jabeur plays the winner of the match between Elina Svitolina and Jule Niemeier. If it’s Svitolina, the 29-year-old Ukrainian won the first three encounters with Jabeur, between 2012-19, but Jabeur triumphed in their most recent clash, a 2021 quarter-final in Chicago.

“We are sharing a dream of winning Wimbledon, so that means a lot,” said Jabeur as she addressed her supporters in the crowd after the match.

“I am not saying it just because I am playing this tournament but this crowd is my favourite, for sure. I feel so much love, and they give me their energy to play every match. Sometimes I have a lot of pressure and I just try, and I see them here, and I enjoy playing and I try my best to win and stay as long as I can here.”

Jab Done