Tunisia: Ons Jabeur in the final of the Ningbo tournament in China
While most of the WTA circuit’s top players chose to play in Tokyo this week, Ons Jabeur decided to play a smaller tournament in Ningbo in order to accumulate wins and points for a qualification for the Cancun Masters. The Tunisian, seeded #1 in China, qualified for the final.
As in her quarter-final against Vera Zvonareva, she needed three innings, but she managed to eliminate Nadia Podoroska (87th) on the score of 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 in 1h47.
Against Argentina for the first time ever, World No. 7 got off to a bad start when it lost its entry serve, but it immediately reacted by equalizing at 2-2, before breaking again at 4-3 and then pocketing the inning on its third set ball. In the second, Jabeur again lost her entry serve, but this time she failed to return (three missed 2-0 debreak balls) and was again broken at 4-1.
So we had to play a third set, where Podoroska held up to 2-2, before losing four games in a row, and so the game. Ons Jabeur (29) qualifies for the thirteenth final of his career and will aim for his fifth title on Saturday (the second this season after Charleston).
And she will start as the favourite against Russia’s Diana Shnaider, world no. 2 in the junior category last year.
The 19-year-old Russian, ranked 85th in the world, will be playing in her first-ever WTA Tour final, after eliminating the young Czech Linda Fruhvirtova (117th), who made a good comeback this week after several months of difficulties.
She won 6-4, 6-1 in 1 hour 35 minutes at the end of an eight-break match. This will be the very first match between the Tunisian and the Russian.
