By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Ons Jabeur ripped 35 winners dismantling Emma Raducanu 6-4, 6-1 to set up an Abu Dhabi quarterfinal vs. Beatriz Haddad Maia.
Photo credit: Sarah Stier/Getty
Tunisian flags were flying and Ons Jabeur was soaring.
A masterful Jabeur ripped 35 winners dismantling Emma Raducanu 6-4, 6-1 to roll into the Mubadala Abu Dhabi quarterfinals.
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In a clash between 2022 US Open finalist Jabeur and 2021 US Open champion Raducanu, the depth, weight and angle of the Tunisian’s forehand helped her control much of the match.
Aside from squandering a 5-1 first-set lead, this was a near pristine performance from Jabeur, who treated fans to an all-court clinic.
The second-seeded Tunisian not only hit 26 more winners than Raducanu, she served with authority for much of the match.
Jabeur served 58 percent, pumped 8 aces against no double faults and won 24 of 29 first-serve points.
Repeatedly dragging Raducanu wide sliding her slice serve in the deuce side, Jabeur set up first-strike forehand opportunities and took advantage of many of those chances.
“She didn’t make it easy for me, obviously,” Jabeur told Monica Puig afterward. “Emma is such an amazing player. I really wish her all the best.
“I know she can play much better. So I’m a big fan of hers so I’m looking forward to see her winning more matches—not against me, but against other players.”
This is Jabeur’s second win of the young season and sends her into the quarterfinals against Beatriz Haddad Maia.
Earlier, Haddad Maia saved nine of 11 break points defeating Magda Linette 7-6(6), 6-7(1), 6-1 for her second win over the world No. 55 in as many meetings.
The three hour, 42-minute battle was the longest match of the 2024 season and marks the 11th time the left-handed Brazilian has eclipsed the three hour mark in a match since 2022.
"I think my team need to take care of their hearts," Haddad Maia said in her on-court interview. "Sometimes tennis, it's not easy to manage the emotions.
"In the tiebreak I was a little bit frustrated, and that caused another set. But there is one quality for me that is very important, and it's that I never give up and I always try one more time."
Overall, the sixth-ranked Jabeur has won two of three meetings vs. Haddad Maia with their last two encounters coming on red clay.
Playing for the first Top 10 win of her career, wild card Raducanu ran into issues in the opening game.
Raducanu went up 40-30 in the opening game, but committed a couple of errors and double faulted on break point to gift the break to Jabeur.
The two-time Wimbledon finalist consolidated for a 2-0 lead.
Mixing sliding slice backhands shorter in the court with flatter, faster forehands, Jabeur was pressuring Raducanu’s serve again in the fifth game.
Dancing around her backhand, Jabeur slammed an inside-out forehand winner for a third break point. Drawing the Briton forward with a short slice, Jabeur elicited the error scoring her second break for a 4-1 lead.
Stinging an ace down the T and spinning a serve winner out wide, Jabeur backed up the break at 15 for 5-1.
Serving for the set at 5-2, Jabeur earned a pair of set points, but Raducanu saved both set points.
Turning her hips and shoulders into her shots, Raducanu hit a series of sharp forehands to set up a jarring backhand crosscourt breaking back for 3-5.
Humming as she hit some shots, Jabeur deployed a brilliant drop shot winner for a third set point in the ninth game. Rising again, Raducanu spun a forehand winner down the line to save a third set point then touched the line with a forehand fending off a fourth set point, eventually holding with her third game in a row.
Serving for the set again, Jabeur cruised through a love hold converting her fifth set point when Raducanu put a short forehand into the tape.
Seizing the opening set empowered Jabeur to swing more freely, play sharper angles and generally denied Raducanu rhythm from the baseline.
Abu Dhabi debutant Jabeur converted her third break point for a 2-1 second-set lead.
The second seed was firing her forehand with impunity breaking again for a 4-1 lead.
Jabeur closed it in one hour, 18 minutes.
“Emma had an amazing experience at the the US Open and everyone followed her,” Jabeur said. “She has an amazing career. I think everybody has a different story, but we struggle, we go through a lot of things and we try to make it here. I’m so proud to be on the WTA Tour.”
Miami Open finalist Sorana Cirstea won eight of the first 10 games dismissing Maria Sakkari 6-2, 6-1.
The 26th-ranked Cirstea scored her 20th career Top 10 victory as Sakkari fell to 1-3 vs. the 33-year-old Romanian.
“I’m very happy with the way I started,” Cirstea said. “I think against Maria she’s such a strong player you have to start good. Because she’s a front runner. I’m definitely very happy with the win tonight.”
Cirstea moves into the quarterfinals against seventh-seeded Daria Kasatkina, a 6-3, 7-5 victor over American qualifier Ashlyn Krueger.
“I think Maria is a great player, she’s a fighter so you know coming in you have to really go for every point,” Cirstea said. “You have to take the opportunities and I Was able to do that today. I was able to play aggressive. I have so much respect for her and I think it’s a great win for me.”