Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur (WTA No. 2) on Thursday secured a place in the final at Wimbledon, becoming the first Arab tennis player to do so.
Third-seeded Jabeur defeated Germany’s Tatjana Maria (WTA 103) by 6-2, 3-6 and 6-1 on Center Court, in a match that lasted 103 minutes.
That was Maria’s best showing in a Grand Slam. Until now, the mother of two had never made it past the second round.
Jabeur, for her part, reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon last year, her best performance thus far.
The Tunisian, who is the first African player to reach the semifinals of the London tournament, had stopped Elise Mertens (WTA 31) in the fourth round.
Jabeur will compete in the final against Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina (WTA 23) who beat Simona Halep (Romania – WTA 18).
