Former world number 2 Ons Jabeur came back from 3-5 down to beat Danielle Collins 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 reaching the second round at the Adelaide International.
Jabeur is making her come-back from a shoulder injury which sidelined her for the last four months of the 2024 season. The three-time Grand Slam finalist is playing as a wild-card.
Both players broke each other twice in the first set than went to a tie-break. Jabeur earned an early mini-break to take a 1-0- Collins broke back in the fourth game to draw level to 2-2. Jabeur broke for the second time to take a 5-3. Collins broke straight back to draw level to 5-5.
Jabeur went up a 3-1 lead in the tie-break. Collins pulled back on serve to save the first set point. Jabeur earned a second mini-break to seal the tie-break 8-6 on her third set point.
Collins saved a total of three break points in the second and fourth games of the second set. Jabeur pulled away with a break in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead and sealed the win with a double break on her third match point.
“I am very proud, especially with my forehand today. I benefited from the break from the tour. Physically and especially mentally I was a bit tired from playing a lot of tournaments for a lot of years in a row. The fact that I got to spend a lot of time with my family really helped me, just to know where I am and to get out of the routine of packing my bags, going to a tennis tournament. I got to do a little bit of a charity work, was was really helpful and made me realize how grateful I am to have this life”, said Jabeur.
Defending champion Jelena Ostapenko came back from 0-4 down to beat Magdalena Frech 4-6 6-1 6-1 after 2 hours and 8 minutes. Ostapenko claimed her sixth straight match win in Adelaide. The Latvian player has made a successful come-back winning her first singles match since last August. She was sidelined by an abdominal injury. She lost in the first round at the Brisbane International.
Ostapenko set up a second round match against Madison Keys, who cruised past Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-2 6-1.
“It was a tough match because I was injured for a bit after the US Open, so I did not play many singles matches. It’s always tough to come back from injury but I am really glad that after the first set I was fighting until the last point”, said Ostapenko.
Maria Sakkari beat Linda Noskova 6-3 6-3. Sakkari battled with a shoulder injury and had not won a singles match since last July. The Greek player will take on Jessica Pegula in the second round.
Diana Schnaider overcame Katerina Siniakova 6-3 0-6 6-0. Lucky loser Ashlyn Krueger came back from one set down to Marta Kostyuk 4-6 6-2 6-2 clinching her second top 20 win in as many weeks.
Swiss qualifier Belinda Bencic advanced to the second round after Anna Kalinskaya withdrew from the match due to a viral illness when she was trailing 6-1 1-0.
