Ons Jabeur ‘ready to realise the dream of an entire continent’
Ons Jabeur is determined to put her recent injury woes behind her and go all out at the French Open where she hopes to end the African continent’s wait for a female Grand Slam champion.
The trailblazing Tunisian came close to realising her dream last year as she finished runner-up at Wimbledon and the US Open – in the process she becoming the first African and Arab woman to reach the finals of both majors.
The 28-year-old had high hopes of continuing her good form at the Australian Open this year, but she made a sluggish start to the campaign as she lost in the second round before injuries forced her to miss several tournaments.
Although she won the Charleston Open at the beginning of April, the former world No 2 has not been at her best since making her return, but she hopes to change that at the upcoming French Open.
“This year I’ve had to cope with some injuries, so it’s not been an easy start for me,” she told Eurosport.
“I’m patient, or at least I try to be, to hang in there and try to have an even better season than last year.”
She added: “[Clay] is a surface I like a lot. It gives me time to play my shots, to play my game. I love the slice, the drop shot. I know the ball stays lower when I play a slice and I’m adapting to it all the time.
“There are lots of players like Iga [Swiatek], like Aryna [Sabalenka], like [Elena] Rybakina who are playing very well on this surface, with different games, but I will do my best.”
Jabeur enjoyed a brilliant lead-up to the French Open last year as she won the Madrid Open and finished runner-up at the Italian Open.
Many felt she was one of the favourites for the title in Paris, but she crashed out in the first round.
Her build-up to this year’s clay-court Grand Slam could not have been more different as she missed her Madrid title defence and then lost in the second round in Rome.
Her best performances at Roland Garros to date are a couple of fourth-round appearances in 2020 and 2021, but she is eager to go all the way.
“I will prepare for Roland-Garros this year, hoping that I will do better than in previous years,” she said.
“Obviously, the pressure is there but I will use that pressure to make sure I’m ready to realise my dream, to realise the dream of an entire people, an entire continent in fact.”
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