Madrid Open: Ons Jabeur gets her revenge and books date with former No 1

WTA Tour
Ons Jabeur

Ons Jabeur got one back in her rivalry with Belinda Bencic but not before fending off a fightback and a weather delay.

Jabeur claimed a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory in a match that finished under the closed roof in Madrid.

The triumph was her first victory over Bencic, whom she lost to in the Charleston Open final in April, in three meetings.

Their previous meeting was coincidentally at the Madrid Open last year when Bencic beat Jabeur at the same stage.

Jabeur was well aware of her past Bencic and savoured finally getting one over on the Swiss star.

“I came here to take my revenge … I wish I played like that in the final in Charleston, to be honest,” Jabeur said.

“Part of me is very proud of myself for coming today and getting the win. Belinda is such an amazing player and it’s very tough to play against her. I’m very happy with the level I showed today, and hopefully this level will continue for the rest of the tournament.”

Jabeur played an aggressive game which saw her commit 28 unforced errors, but she kept herself in the black with a remarkable 39 winners while Bencic managed just 15.

She also sent down nine aces and managed to save five of the six break points she faced.

For Jabeur’s exertions she will be rewarded with a quarterfinal match against a resurgent Simona Halep.

Halep became the second woman to move through to the last eight at the Madrid Open on Monday with her Round 3 victory over Coco Gauff.

The former World No 1 beat Gauff 6-4, 6-4 to claim her second win over the American teenager at a WTA 1000 event this year.

Halep put down an attempted second set comeback to ensure she secure a second successive straight-sets win over Gauff.

The Romanian won five games in a row after going 4-1 down, breaking Gauff back from 40-0 at 4-2, before closing out the 77-minute contest.

Halep and Jabeur have played three previous times, with the former holding a 2-1 edge.

Ons Jabeur Simona Halep

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