After battling back and forcing a second-set tiebreaker in her first US Open final, Ons Jabeur fell to No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek on Saturday, 6-2, 7-6(5).
Earlier this year, Jabeur was the runner up at Wimbledon, too.
It's been an inspiring two weeks, @Ons_Jabeur!#USOpen pic.twitter.com/ZV7aIHGzq4
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 10, 2022
“I really tried, but Iga didn’t make it easy for me,” Jabeur said the sold-out crowd of 23,859 fans in Arthur Ashe Stadium. “I don’t like her very much right now,” she joked—adding at the post-match press conference, “I’ll forgive her when she gives me a Rolex or something.”
Despite the loss, the 28-year-old Tunisian reached a slew of milestones in New York.
She achieved her best performance in Flushing Meadows after three consecutive years of third-round exits. She boosted her world ranking to No. 2. She earned a runner-up check for $1.3 million dollars. (That’s 4.16 million Tunisian dinars.) And she became the first Arab and African woman to reach the US Open final in the Open Era.
“It means a lot,” she said, referring to her impact back home. “I’m trying to do more and more. Hopefully I can inspire more and more [kids]. That’s the goal. This is just the beginning of so many things.”
Ons Jabeur said , “It’s part of tennis. Winning or losing is part of it. And fortunately it is me. I struggled to win my first WTA title. It took me time. So I believe this will take me time.
“The most important thing is accepting it, learning from the finals that I lost.”
One Jabeur said, “[I] definitely [want to] win a Grand Slam to show that it’s not impossible for someone coming from my country, from my continent, to have that title.
“In the future maybe I can share my experience and kind of show them and guide them. I mean, I don’t want them to waste their time like I did in some things because I didn’t know what to do.”
“I played a lot of African tournaments before, and championships. The way they fight there, it’s just amazing. Hopefully one day they can be here. But most important, [do] not to give up.”
On Saturday, Jabeur was a model of her own message.
In the championship match, Jabbeur said Swiatek started “really strong and put a lot of pressure on me.” After Swiatek won the first set in 30 minutes, Jabbeur said, “It was very tough, and she was hitting lines a lot of times, kind of annoying. Second set, I had my chances; she had hers. I was coming back, coming back. I wish I had [a] lead so I can continue and build on it.”
“I have nothing to regret because I did everything possible. I wish I served little bit better today; It would have helped me a lot. I will keep positive and work on the things that was missing today,”Ons Jabbeur added.
Similar to losing Wimbledon, she said, “This one is going to be tough. It’s part of tennis. I believe this will take me time. The most important thing is accepting it, [and] learning from the finals that I lost.
“Definitely I’m not going to give up. I am sure I’m going to be in the final again. I will try my best to win it. I’m going to keep my hopes up. I know there is a lot of many finals coming for me.”
For now, she said, “I’m going to enjoy these two weeks, rest a little bit and prepare for the end of the season,” particularly the WTA Finals, this year to be held in Forth Worth, Texas.
“It’s a big thing for me,” she said, “a mini-Grand Slam, I call it. I always dreamed to play this one. I will maybe show myself there and build more confidence to really get ready for the next season because I feel like I have a lot to show next season. I’m definitely going for the No. 1 spot.
“[Iga’s] really set the bar very high. It’s great for our sport. I will keep doing my thing and hopefully will catch her,” she added.
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