By Tony Fairbairn At Wimbledon
- Ons Jabeur admitted a tougher draw has given her more confidence ahead of the Wimbledon final
- Marketa Vondrousova has showed her gratitude towards reaching the final after overcoming surgeries to make the final
- Elina Svitolina and Aryna Sabalenka reflect on positives after semi-final defeat
LONDON, ENGLAND – Ons Jabeur talks about gaining confidence while Marketa Vondrousova speaks about overcoming surgeries as both players are into the Wimbledon final.
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Ons Jabeur talks about gaining confidence ahead of final
Our day eleven talking points start with Ons Jabeur who is into a second consecutive Wimbledon final after defeating Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in three sets. The Tunisian came back from a set and a break down as she refused to concede defeat to a relentless Sabalenka.
Speaking after the match Jabeur spoke about her draw having had to beat Bianca Andreescu, Petra Kvitova, Elena Rybakina and Sabalenka on her way to another Wimbledon final.
“Yeah, I think this year the draw is much tougher,” Jabeur stated when asked about facing four former Grand Slam champion on her way to the final.
“Playing against amazing players that not only they play good on any surface, but they play amazing on grass. That was very challenging. Also maybe it’s a good thing, that gives me more confidence to be ready for the final. Also getting that rhythm of playing great tennis to be ready for the next match.”
Last year Jabeur took advantage of an opportunistic draw to get to the final but this year couldn’t be anymore different as she looks to achieve history and win a maiden Grand Slam title on Saturday. Speaking ahead of the biggest match of her career Jabeur said that being in matches like these makes her believe that this could be her year.
“Yeah, last year was my first final of a Grand Slam. Definitely getting closer to winning the Grand Slam that I always wished,” Jabeur explained.
“I would say I always believed. But sometimes you would question and doubt it if it’s going to happen, if it’s ever going to happen. Being in the last stages, I think it does help you believe more. For me, I’m going to learn a lot from not only Wimbledon’s final but also US Open final, and give it my best.
“Maybe this year was all about trying two times and getting it right the third time. So let’s see.”
Saturday’s final will be Jabeur’s third Grand Slam final as she looks to win the biggest title of her career at Wimbledon
Sabalenka ‘proud’ despite defeat
However for Sabalenka it’s another semi-final defeat at a Grand Slam as her wait to reach a Wimbledon final continues. The world number two has now lost three of her last four Grand Slam semi-finals with all of those defeats coming from winning positions as Sabalenka ponders on what could have been.
However after the match even though Sabalenka is disappointed, she is also proud of her season so far and has a lot to look forward to.
“Yeah, it’s definitely one of the best years so far. I mean, I can’t complain about my results this year, to be honest,” Sabalenka said in her press conference.
“The far you go, the more you want. It’s still tough to, yeah, recover after these kind of matches. What do I expect at the US Open? Well, just do better. If I get to the semifinals, just do better than I did in the last semifinals.
“I mean, I’m really proud of myself that I was able to get to the semifinals this year. I’m kind of, like, proud of myself, but at the same time I’m really disappointed that I couldn’t get this win. But still, again, I can’t complain about my results this year.
“There is always a lot more to work on, a lot of things I can improve and get better. Hopefully next year I’ll come back much stronger than this year.”
Sabalenka remains optimistic despite also missing out on being world number one as that will have to wait. Although she is not there yet, Sabalenka still remains confident she can achieve that goal this season.
“I wouldn’t say that I was thinking about that. I mean, for me it’s more about how you finish the year than during the year you’re first, second, you just go back and fourth,” Sabalenka said.
“For me it’s more about finish the year. I’ll keep pushing myself and do everything I can to finish this year as world No. 1.”
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Vondrousova shows gratitude after reaching maiden Wimbledon final
In the other semi-final it was Marketa Vondrousova who prevailed over Elina Svitolina to seal a place in a second Grand Slam final. Vondrousova was dominant over a fatigued Svitolina as she will now contest her maiden Wimbledon final.
Speaking after the match the former Roland Garros finalist admitted it’s crazy that she’s in the Wimbledon final.
“I mean, here on grass, it was almost impossible (because), as I said, I didn’t play many matches on grass before,” Vondrousova said in her press conference.
“My best one was second round. Yeah, I mean, for me, when it was clay or hard, maybe I would say, yeah, maybe it’s possible. But grass was impossible for me. It’s even crazier that this is happening.
“I played Berlin before, so I felt good there. I played couple of matches. It wasn’t bad. I was like, Yeah, maybe I can play a few matches here. Yeah, when I saw the draw, it wasn’t easy. I was like, Let’s try. I beat Kudermetova, Vekic. They are great on grass.
“I was like, Okay, maybe, you know, I’ll get better and I can do something here. For me it’s really crazy this is happening. But I think anything can happen in tennis.”
As Vondrousova has alluded to, she has beaten four seeds on her way to a first Wimbledon final which is no easy feat. The run is made even more remarkable by the fact that she was in a cast this time last year as she explained after her win.
“Yeah, I mean, after everything I’ve been through, two surgeries, it’s not always easy to come back,” Vondrousova admitted.
“Yeah, you don’t know if you can play at this level and if you can be back at the top and back at these tournaments. I just feel like I’m just grateful to be on a court again, to play without pain. I’m just really grateful for it.”
Svitolina sends strong message after defeat
However it wasn’t to be for Svitolina who lost her third consecutive Grand Slam semi-final in what was a tired-looking performance.
Despite the defeat it was still an incredible two weeks at SW19 for the Ukrainian who after the match told people to believe in themselves and said she can carry this form into the second half of the season.
“To believe in yourself. Different kind of levels, as well. In different situations, you always need to find the way to fight for your dream. Yeah, just continue dreaming and trying to achieve your dream,” Svitolina responded when asked what type of message she is trying to send to people watching back home.
“For sure I hope I can build on this. But right now I’m just really disappointed with the performance that I showed today. That’s what I have right now in my mind. Probably will need couple of days to really reflect on everything that happened because, yeah, I was trying to be really focus, even after the win against Iga.
“I will need couple of days to really switch off myself first from everything and then think about what happened, what did I do right, and what did I do wrong, as well.”
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