Ons Jabeur was the first tennis player to reach the final of this year’s US Open in New York. The 28-year-old Tunisian won surprisingly clearly against French Caroline Garcia on Friday night 6: 1, 6: 3 and, like two months earlier in Wimbledon, is playing in the final for her first Grand Slam title. The one-sided match lasted just 1:06 hours. She lost the Wimbledon final to Jelena Rybakina.
“It feels insanely good. There was a lot of pressure on me, I’m very relieved,” said Jabeur: “The hard court season started badly for me, but now I’m glad I made it to the final.”
First African in US Open final
Jabeur is the first African player to reach the final of the US Open in the professional era. The disappointing Garcia ended her dream of the title and a 13-game winning streak in the biggest game of her career to date.
Before the first serve, a minute’s silence was held at Arthur Ashe Stadium in honor of Britain’s late Queen Elizabeth II.
This was followed by the second women’s semi-final between world number one Iga Swiatek from Poland and Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka.
The final will be played on Saturday. A day later, the men’s final concludes the last Grand Slam tournament of the year.
