There will be no fairytale run for Tunisian Ons Jabeur at the final Grand Slam of the year after her elimination from the tournament on Sunday.
The Tunisian trailblazer who earlier this year made history by becoming the first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal, lost out to American Sofia Kenin in closely fought match.
Jabeur lost in straight sets 6-7, 3-6 to Kenin, the same opponent who defeated her at the Australian Open.
Jabeur’s exit ends African representation in both the men’s and women’s singles draws after South Africans Lloyd Harris and Kevin Anderson and Egyptian Mohamed Safwat were already eliminated.
Jabeur fired 10 aces and hit 35 winners compared to Kenin who never landed an ace and only mustered 13 winners. However, Kenin, crucially, made fewer unforced errors (23 to 32) and converted and saved more break points than Jabeur.
This was Kenin’s fourth win in five matches against the Tunisian with the last victory against her coming in her title winning campaign at the Australian Open in January.
Kenin paid tribute to the Tunisian who, currently at #31, is also the highest ranked Arab woman in WTA history.
“It was the best she’s played against me. Obviously I played her a few times, so I know her game well. She was serving, moving well. It was a really tough battle. She never let up. It was really close.”
