Ons Jabeur jokes her goal in tennis is to ‘not lose any more finals’ as she chases after her maiden Grand Slam title which will rewrite the history books at the Australian Open.
Jabeur, who is seeded second in this draw at Melbourne Park, has been agonizingly close to a major title twice in 2022. At Wimbledon she was leading the final by a set before losing 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, to Elena Rybakina. A couple of months later at the US Open, she fell in straight sets to world No.1 Iga Swiatek in the title match. It is a frustrating pattern for the 28-year-old who has only won three out of her 10 Tour finals.
“I try to always adapt to different surfaces. I obviously like this hard court here in Australia,” Jabeur said during her pre-tournament press conference.
“I will try to use that experience from last year because it was kind of tough. My goal is to not lose any more finals but just use that to be ready for the next one.”
Few can doubt Jabeur’s ability on the court with her use of spin and carefully placed drop shots. To date, she has recorded 11 wins over top 10 players since 2017 and won the Madrid Open last year.
“I feel like there is not a lot of pressure on me in this tournament. I’m just going to try to play my game, just be there match by match, see what’s going to happen.” She commented.
Nicknamed the “minister for happiness” in her home country, the world No.2 has been a trailblazer for both African and Arab tennis. Among her achievements is becoming the first Arab player – male or female – to crack the top 10, as well as the first to reach a major final.
Although it is a Grand Slam title which is Jabeur’s ultimate goal. Historically a woman representing an African country has never won the Australian Open. On the men’s Tour, the only person to do so was Johan Kriek in 1981 who represented South Africa before switching his allegiance to America.
“I may not be as happy as I was in 2020 reaching the quarter-final,” she said of her Grand Slam targets.
“The goal as the second (ranked) in the world is to be in the second week, to make finals.”
Another target of Jabeur is to conquer the rankings by removing Swiatek from the top. She is currently more than 5000 points behind the Pole who will keep hold of her No.1 ranking regardless of how she performs at the Australian Open.
“I want to be number one in the world, not just the number but also the level and the discipline around it. I want to win more titles and get that Grand Slam title, for sure,” Jabeur states.
“I know a lot of players are hungry to do more. It’s going to be very interesting these next two weeks.”
Jabeur will play Tamara Zidansek in her first round match on Tuesday.
