By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday February 19, 2020
Simona Halep was pushed to the brink by Ons Jabeur in Dubai and came away with a clutch victory to reach the quarterfinals.
Photo Source: Mark Peterson/Corleve
Pushed to the brink by a fierce competitor and fabulous shotmaker, Simona Halep dug deep into her reserves to scratch out a 1-6 6-2 7-6(7) victory over Ons Jabeur in front of a frenzied crowd at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
The Romanian battled her way out of a one set hole to eventually lead by a set and 3-0 against the World No.45 but credit Jabeur, who battled back and eventually found herself level at 4-all and then—suddenly—serving for the match at 6-5.
She faltered there and was broken at love, and Jabeur quickly fell behind 6-3 in the tiebreaker as well. But she was able to save three consecutive match points before earning a shot at the victory while serving at 7-6.
Nerves would get in the way again, however, as Jabeur netted consecutive forehands to hand Halep a fourth match point at 8-7 in the breaker. The Romanian promptly converted (another Jabeur forehand error, this time long) to seal the victory at the two hour mark.
“It was a very tough match, she played really well,” said Halep on court after her victory. “Actually maybe I was a little bit lucky to win tonight.”
Halep improves to 1-1 lifetime against Jabeur. The Tunisian had earned her only previous Top 5 win against Halep in their lone previous meeting in Beijing late in 2018.
Halep finished with 10 winners against 24 unforced errors; Jabeur recorded 26 winners and 41 unforced. Each player converted five breaks in the match.
“First match after a long time it’s tough to play,” the 2015 champion said of playing her first competitive tennis since bowing out in the semifinals of the Australian Open to Garbine Muguruza. “I gave everything I had. I just wanted to win the match, I didn’t give up any points and I’m really proud that I could fight to the end and to win the match—it’s always tough to play your first match of the tournament.”
Halep always receives strong support in Dubai and the crowd was full of energy with plenty of support for the highest-ranked Arab player as well.
“I felt like it’s a Fed Cup match or a football match, I don’t know exactly,” she said.
Halep moves on to face Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals. Sabalenka took out her longtime doubles partner Elise Mertens on Wednesday 6-4 6-3.
“She’s a really strong opponent,” Halep said. “Tomorrow I just have to be strong, to play my game and to believe that I can win the match.”