LONDON: Ons Jabeur is confident she can challenge at the Dubai Tennis Championships this week after beating Donna Vekic in straight sets.
It was the Tunisian’s first win over a top 30 player this year and having set her stall with the 6-4, 7-6 victory Jabeur sounded in bullish mood.
Next up for the 24-year-old is two-time Dubai champion Elina Svitolina, and she said: “We know each other from the juniors. It will be tough for both of us — no stress for me I am going to do my best and hopefully go for the win.”
While Jabeur has not had the easiest start to the year — first round defeats at the Australian Open and in Doha last week, doing nothing for her confidence — this is the first year she is playing at the Aviation Club on merit through her world ranking, rather than a wildcard. And against the world No. 25 she showed that on her day she can be a match for anyone.
“It’s always a pleasure to be in Dubai I feel like its home,” the
Tunisian said.
“It was tough in the second set but thanks to the support of the fans we made it through.
“(Donna) is playing really good, we played last year and she won, this is kind of my revenge. I am happy with this win. I am starting better this year than last year so I am going to look forward to playing more matches and win more.”
There is little doubting that Svitolina will provide a much sterner test. The world No. 6 is the defending champion and made the last-four in Qatar last week. There is, however, no doubting that Jabeur could have the weapons to upset the Ukrainian. The Tunisian is versatile and has a much different game from the rest of the field, her slice-and-dice game enough to trouble anyone not on top of their game.
“I am here on merit. It’s very important not on wildcard. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. I hope I can do the best ever in Dubai.”
Ons Jabeur in bullish mood ahead of Elina Svitolina clash in Dubai
Ons Jabeur in bullish mood ahead of Elina Svitolina clash in Dubai
- Tunisian records first win over a top-30 player of the year with straight sets victory again Donna Vekic
- Jabeur now faces defending Dubai champion Svitolina in second round.
Al-Taawoun miss chance to go joint-top of SPL in narrow loss to Al-Ittihad
- Third win in as many games for Al-Ittihad as gap to leaders Al-Nassr narrows to eight points
- Only Al-Taawoun’s second loss of the season, their first since their opening-day defeat to Al-Nassr
RIYADH: Sergio Conceicao’s tenure at Al-Ittihad may have found its true starting point.
The defending champions edged this season’s surprise package Al-Taawoun 1-0 in a tense clash at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium in Jeddah on Saturday to move up to fifth place on 23 points.
Before the Saudi Pro League went on hiatus for more than a month, Conceicao had just one league victory to his name.
To say that start was rocky is an understatement, with defeats to Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli combined with draws against Al-Fayha and Al-Khaleej leaving his opening weeks far from convincing.
Since then, momentum has steadily built.
Wins over Al-Shabab (2-0), NEOM (3-1) and now Al-Taawoun have signalled a clear upturn in form. The Tigers dominated large spells of the contest and, but for a stellar performance in goal by Mailson, could have won by a wider margin.
Breaking down Pericles Chamusca’s Al-Taawoun side was anything but straightforward. The opening 15 minutes saw Al-Ittihad repeatedly caught offside in their attempts to break through, before they began finding space in the box on multiple occasions.
Moussa Diaby found himself through on goal in the 18th minute, only for Mailson to deny him, reacting swiftly again to block Muhannad Al-Shanqeeti’s rebound effort. A minute later, Karim Benzema met the same fate as his header was also kept out by the Brazilian goalkeeper.
That pattern continued throughout the first half.
Al-Ittihad overloaded the box in various ways to pull the Al-Taawoun defenders out of position, but the final touch remained elusive. Benzema attempted to unlock the defence with a clever through ball to Al-Shanqeeti, only for the pass to run beyond the full-back’s reach.
The breakthrough finally arrived early in the second half. Fabinho and Benzema combined just outside the final third before Diaby was released behind the defence, laying the ball off for the marauding Al-Shanqeeti to open the scoring in the 50th minute.
Al-Ittihad pushed for a second goal to put the game beyond doubt, but Mailson, alongside defenders Andrei Girotto and Moustapha Sémbène, stood firm to keep Al-Taawoun in the contest.
The hosts faced a late scare when Abdelfattah Adam headed in what appeared to be a late equaliser, only for a VAR check to identify a foul in the build-up, sending the home fans into rapture as Al-Ittihad saw out the win.
Elsewhere in the Saudi Pro League, Al-Fateh claimed their third successive victory with a 2-0 win over nine-man Al-Shabab in front of a passionate home crowd. Meanwhile, Ben Harburg’s Al-Kholood returned to winning ways with a 5-0 drubbing of Al-Fayha in Al Majma’ah.
On Sunday, Al-Hazem look to extend their good form against NEOM at 6:05pm, while Al-Qadsiah host Al-Riyadh and Al-Hilal travel to Damac, with both fixtures kicking off at 8:30pm.
