Tunisian Ons Jabeur advanced to the quarterfinals of the Qatar Total Open after defeating former world number one and third seed Karolina Pliskova in three sets on Wednesday.
Jabeur overcame an apparent injury concern to beat the 2017 champion 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha in just under two hours.
Jabeur fired five aces and 33 winners and saved four out of six break points she faced. She also committed fewer unforced errors (18) compared to Pliskova (22).
Jabeur broke Pliskova in the first game of the first set and both players held serve after that allowing Jabeur to claim the set 6-4.
In the second set, Pliskova broke Jabeur in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. With the set going on with serve, Pliskova served out to win it 6-3.
In the deciding set, Jabeur broke Pliskova in the sixth and eighth games, despite losing serve in between, and converted her second match point to win the set 6-3.
After the match, Jabeur revealed that she had felt a sharp pain in her right hamstring but soldiered on in order to maintain her rhythm.
“I had to play really good, she’s a tough player and especially her serve it’s not easy to break, so I had to really serve good or be ready for her returns,” Jabeur said in her post-match interview.
Jabeur next faces 2018 champion and eighth seed Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic later on Thursday for a place in the semifinals.
“I mean Petra is Petra. She plays unbelievable and she’s a tough player. We played at Wimbledon, so hopefully, I can be ready more this time. It’s a different surface, it’s a great tournament for me for now.”
