In the duel between the two Grand Slam final debutants, the 23-year-old Kazakh won against Ons Jabeur from Tunisia on Saturday after a weak first set with 3: 6.6: 2.6: 2. The performance improvement of the world number 23 was rewarded with only his third tournament win at WTA or Grand Slam level and a winner’s check of 2 million pounds (2.36 million euros).
“never felt”
“I’m speechless, I was super nervous before the game and during the game. I’m glad it’s over, I’ve never felt anything like that,” Rybakina said. The favored Jabeur, currently second in the world rankings, can at least console himself with £1.05 million (€1.21 million), but missed the great opportunity for the first Grand Slam title by an Arab and African player. “I’m glad I’ve inspired so many generations from my country,” said the 27-year-old. “You are an inspiration not only for juniors, but for everyone,” Rybakina enthused about her opponent. “You have an incredible game, I enjoy playing you so much.”
Rybakina, who was born in Russia, changed her nationality in 2018 and was therefore able to compete in Wimbledon at all. Because in the current edition, professionals from Russia and Belarus were excluded because of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. Moscow-born Rybakina had said several times during the tournament that she was happy to represent Kazakhstan. “They believed in me. There’s no question how I feel anymore. I’ve been on a journey as a Kazakh player for a long time.” When asked about the war, she said she wanted it “to be over as soon as possible”.
Powerful serve
It quickly became clear that it would be a completely different game for Jabeur than in the semifinals against the German Tatjana Maria, which had been characterized by finesse and many undercut duels on both sides. As usual, Rybakina relied on her powerful serve and powerful groundstrokes. In contrast to the impressive semi-final success against former winner Simona Halep of Romania, she showed nerves and struggled with her opponent’s slice. After a backhand error by the Kazakhs, Jabeur got the first break to make it 2-1.
Rybakina stayed close in a hard-fought game, but was unable to put enough pressure on her opponent on serve Jabeur. The Tunisian used her first set ball for the second break after just 32 minutes and the deserved 6:3. Rybakina was initially unimpressed and took the service from her opponent for the first time with the first chance. Jabeur still had fun, headed a ball after the point, returning a lob running back through the legs. But rhythm, concentration and a little later the second set were gone.
Also in the decisive round, Rybakina had fewer problems with her opponent’s drop shots than at the beginning and immediately got the break. Jabeur became increasingly desperate and missed three breakballs when the score was 2:3. Instead, she gave up her own serve again and allowed herself an error on Rybakina’s first match point.
Source: Nachrichten
