Having become the first African woman to win a Masters 1000 in Madrid, Jabeur was well fancied to rival Iga Świątek for the title.
The two also met in the final of the Italian Open, but a meeting this fortnight was cruelly dashed by Poland’s Magda Linette, who came back from a set down to win 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5.
After the two-hour, 28-minute epic, Jabeur had this to say.
“Obviously I was expecting better but we say maybe something happens bad because there is something good happening in the future.
“Hopefully I will play the grass season at Wimbledon, but I don’t know. It’s a time to reflect and see what happens next.”
Another big shock occurred as 19-year-old Dianne Parry sent her home support into ecstasy as she shocked second seed defending champion Barbora Krejčíková.
The Czech going down 1-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Estonian veteran Kaia Kanepi took another major scalp after her Australian Open exploits as she downed 10th seed Garbiñe Muguruza 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
American sensation Amanda Anisimova comfortably beat an out of sorts Naomi Osaka 7-5, 6-4.
Meanwhile, the tournament favourite Świątek remains on track to win her second Grand Slam title after crushing Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko.
“I just want to keep going. I am aware that one day my streak will stop,” Świątek said.
“I am 100 per cent focused on my tennis, not on stats or not on some numbers.
“I focus on my game and being kind of in a bubble. That’s what I’ve been doing the past weeks and I’m going to continue doing that here.”
