World No. 3 Ons Jabeur 'cannot wait' to team up with Serena Williams in doubles

Ons Jabeur teams up with Serena Williams as the American legend Williams makes her first competitive appearance in nearly 12 months at Wimbledon. (AFP)
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Updated 20 June 2022
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World No. 3 Ons Jabeur 'cannot wait' to team up with Serena Williams in doubles

  • Jabeur won her third career title in Berlin after Belinda Bencic retired through injury
  • The Tunisian star says Venus likely to have played a role in Serena asking her to partner in her comeback

With a third career title under her belt and a new personal-high ranking of No. 3 in the world, Tunisian Ons Jabeur has lots to celebrate on the back of a stellar week in Berlin.

But she will have to hold off on any festivities as she quickly switches her focus to teaming up with Serena Williams in Eastbourne on Tuesday, in preparation for next week’s Wimbledon.

American legend Williams will make her first competitive appearance in nearly 12 months when she steps onto the lawns of Eastbourne, where she has chosen to only contest doubles, alongside Jabeur.

The 27-year-old is better acquainted with Serena’s older sister Venus, who sang her praises last year before the Tunisian defeated her en route to the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

Venus and Jabeur have practiced together on multiple occasions, and the seven-time major champion once described her as one of her “favorite people.”

Jabeur’s previous interactions with Serena have been friendly, but brief, which is why it came as a huge surprise when she received the call last month that the 23-time Grand Slam winner was keen to partner up with her in doubles at the grass-court event in Eastbourne this week.

“I usually speak with Venus more than Serena. I feel like there is a 50 percent chance that Venus had something to do with it,” Jabeur told Arab News in an interview on Sunday, after clinching the title in Berlin.

 

 

“It was great, you would say yes right away of course. It’s a pleasure that she chose me, it’s unbelievable. I was having dinner with Ellen Perez (her occasional doubles partner), and I was like, ‘Ellen I’m not playing doubles with you anymore, it got serious now. Now I’m not accepting to play doubles with anyone with less than 20 Grand Slams.’

“It’s great, I cannot wait to see her (Serena), and I cannot wait to speak with her, it’s such an honor and pleasure,” Jabeur said.

It is unclear exactly why Serena picked Jabeur to join her on her comeback tournament, but it could have something to do with the fact the crafty Tunisian has been in great form and is currently ranked No. 2 in the Race to the WTA Finals.

Jabeur has tallied up 30 victories so far this season, second only to the top-ranked Iga Swiatek, and is one of only three players on the WTA tour to win multiple singles titles in 2022.

“I don’t know honestly why she picked me but I’m glad that she did. Maybe Venus had something to do with it, maybe she was watching a bit of tennis and she saw some North African girl playing good lately so maybe that kind of helped. I hope she was watching the Madrid final as well,” she added.

Jabeur, who made history as the first Tunisian, Arab, or African to win a WTA 1000 title when she triumphed in Madrid last month, said: “Honestly I’m nervous but I’m going to try to focus on playing tennis and maybe not admiring Serena a lot because I’m such a big fun and it’s honestly a huge honor for me to share the court with her and to kind of be part of her comeback journey.”

Jabeur has already won two titles from four finals reached this season and the triumph in Berlin came at just the right moment after she had suffered a first-round exit at Roland Garros, where she was considered one of the top contenders for the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen.

While her early defeat in Paris was clearly disappointing, Jabeur did not spend too much time dwelling on it.

“I think everything happened for a reason. The French Open was kind of tough for me, I had to fail and get up again maybe, that’s how I think sometimes, to come back stronger.

“I’m glad I took some time off to clear my head. It was the first time I felt that much pressure, so it was tough to handle a little bit but I’m learning from it, obviously, and I just focused on the grass season, to get ready and be here; that was the most important thing, to be prepared.

“I took a week off, that helped me recover mentally and we got back to practicing. It was a little bit tough at the beginning but I’m glad that I came back even stronger,” she added.

In her first grass-court tournament of the season, Jabeur knocked out some tough opposition, including French Open finalist Coco Gauff and Olympic champion Belinda Bencic, on her way to the trophy in Berlin.

Her early Roland Garros exit gave her the chance to spend more time on grass before competing on it and the work paid off right away.

 

 

She said: “I practiced on a terrible court in Paris, so it was great coming here to Berlin because the courts are good, so maybe that helped me play good.

“Physically I was ready, I was practicing a lot of fitness with Karim (Kamoun, her husband and fitness trainer), so that also helped me.

“The confidence and the good pressure of being the No. 1 seed also did help me a lot. And I practiced with a lot of great players here, such as Bianca Andreescu and Karolina Muchova, and I could see myself how I was playing on the practice court, how confident I was, and I think that really helped me bring my A-game.”

With a target on her back entering Paris last month on the heels of winning Madrid and making the final in Rome, Jabeur needed some time to adjust to her new position as a genuine contender at the majors. While winning slams has always been her goal, it is different when her opponents begin to see her as a favorite, and step on court against her ready to play freely as clear underdogs.

“Maybe yes it is a different kind of pressure. I always try to do that in front of everyone; I think everyone wants to play good in front of me, especially now being a top-10 player,” Jabeur, who became the first Arab player – man or woman – to crack that elite ranking bracket last October, added.

“For a while now, I think everybody wants to grab that top-10 win (against me); it’s an extra pressure but I feel like I’m getting used to this pressure. I’m the kind of person that likes a little bit of pressure because when I’m too loose I don’t play really good so to put pressure on myself and to make myself do things, it helps me a lot to play my best tennis.”

This time last year, Jabeur had just picked up a maiden WTA title, on the grass courts of Birmingham, and went on to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time in her career, and the second time at a major.

Ranked 24 in the world at the time, she beat three Grand Slam champions in a row, in the form of Venus Williams, Garbine Muguruza, and Swiatek, before falling to Aryna Sabalenka in the last-eight stage.

She said: “I feel like now I’m a different player. I am handling much better the pressure; putting more expectations on myself because now, if you tell me I’ll be happy with a quarterfinal at Wimbledon, I’ll tell you ‘no, I want to do better.’

“Also coming as a top-10 player is a much different position than being 20-something in the world. I think now I’ve played even more matches, so the confidence is higher for sure, and so many situations I can manage much better. Like if you’re being up, or serving for the set, or playing someone more aggressive, I think I can handle those matches much better than before.”

Jabeur acknowledges that “it sounds amazing” to hear the words “world No. 3” announced before her name but is trying not to get too wrapped up by this latest milestone.

 

 

“I don’t even have the time to digest all of these things, but I’m pretty happy. I honestly wasn’t looking at the ranking and I don’t like to look at the ranking, but I think it’s all part of the plan and I’m really glad,” she added.

She is within touching distance of second-ranked Anett Kontaveit, who is just 170 points ahead of her, but is still far off the ever-dominant Swiatek, who is on a 35-match winning streak and more than 4,000 points ahead of them both.

“My goal this season is to catch Iga maybe, I don’t know, let’s try it and maybe have a rivalry with Iga; that would be great. I have my eyes on the No. 2 spot for sure,” Jabeur said.

Having learned her lesson from Roland Garros, where she felt she was a bit burnt out after playing too many matches in the build-up, Jabeur purposefully did not compete on grass the week before Berlin and is looking to arrive at Wimbledon both mentally and physically fresh, buoyed by the fact her sports psychologist Melanie Maillard will be with her at the event.

Maillard and the rest of the team will not be the only ones supporting Jabeur in south-west London next week. Throughout her run in Berlin, the top seed celebrated her wins in front of scores of Tunisian fans – their football chants echoing around the stadium every step of the way.

“Allez, allez, forza ragazzi, wahda wahda lel finale,” (come on, come on, come on guys, step by step toward the final), has become a popular song following Jabeur from one arena to the other around the globe, and will no doubt be heard when she steps out for her opening match at Wimbledon.

“They’ve already invited themselves to Wimbledon, everybody is coordinating to come there,” she added, referring to the Tunisian fans who plan on making the trip from Berlin to London to support her.


PSG to curb political slogans in wake of ‘Free Palestine’ banner

Updated 10 sec ago
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PSG to curb political slogans in wake of ‘Free Palestine’ banner

PSG promised to “guarantee the absence of political messages” in the stands
“The club was not aware of the plan to display such a message“

PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain say they will make sure there is no repeat of a midweek unfurling by fans of a banner proclaiming “Free Palestine.”
The huge banner covered an entire section of the stadium at the Parc des Princes Wednesday night ahead of PSG’s defeat at the hands of Atletico Madrid.
As well as the slogan “Free Palestine,” the banner showed a bloodstained Palestinian flag, a gesticulating man with a keffiyeh scarf covering all his face except his eyes, the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem and a young boy wrapped in the Lebanese flag.
On Friday, after a meeting with the French football federation and government officials, PSG promised to “guarantee the absence of political messages” in the stands.
“A frank and constructive dialogue made it possible to identify solutions that PSG is committed to putting in place from the next match at the Parc des Princes,” a government spokesperson told AFP.
The banner, which was unfurled by the Paris Ultras Collective (CUP) hard-core fan group, was shown above another slogan which read: “War on the pitch but peace in the world.”
“The club was not aware of the plan to display such a message,” PSG said in a statement Wednesday evening.

Al-Hilal win again to pile pressure on Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq

Updated 17 min 9 sec ago
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Al-Hilal win again to pile pressure on Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq

  • Three fine goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic, Malcom and Mohammed Al-Qahtani did the damage

RIYADH: Al-Hilal returned to the top of the Saudi Pro League on Friday, defeating Ettifaq 3-1 to rack up the pressure on under-fire coach Steven Gerrard.

Three fine goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic, Malcom and Mohammed Al-Qahtani did the damage as the champions moved a point clear of Al-Ittihad, who won 2–0 at Al-Orubah on Thursday. 

The loss means that Ettifaq, who started the season with three straight wins, have taken just one point from the last six games in the league. It may mean a nervous international break for Gerrard, though the Liverpool legend will know that this was a battling performance from his players, who just did not quite have the quality when needed.

While Ettifaq tried to keep it tight at the back, it was not all one-way traffic. Moussa Dembele had a couple of opportunities when the ball simply wouldn’t fall for him and Karl Toko-Ekambi shot just over from the left side, though it could have been a mishit cross.

All know, however, that you have to be ruthless and clinical when playing the 19-time Saudi champions as wastefulness is almost always punished. It took the Blues some time to get going but they started to look ominous as half-time approached.

Just before the break, Al-Hilal should have taken the lead. This season Mitrovic has been lethal inside the area and the league’s leading scorer was picked out in space near the penalty spot; the stadium held its breath but former Fulham teammate Marek Rodak got his foot to the low shot and Malcom fired the rebound wide.

Mitrovic didn’t miss in added time. Renan Lodi picked up possession on the left and the Brazilian then bent a beautiful low cross behind the Ettifaq defense and Mitrovic could not miss from inside the six-yard box for his 11th of the season.

Ettifaq were still very much in the game and ten minutes after the restart, Toko-Ekambi stretched for a low cross, and while the Cameroonian did make contact and forced a good save from Yassine Bounou, it was a great chance.

The easterners thought they were going to regret that as Mitrovic had the ball in the net once more but his close-range header was ruled out for offside. There was a lengthy VAR review but it only confirmed the referee’s original decision.

The second goal did come eventually, and when it did — in the 81st minute — it was one to remember, for the home fans at least. Malcolm was running in from the left side of the area when he was found by a smart backheel from Abdullah Al-Hamdan. The Brazilian then took the ball past the goalkeeper with his first touch and then rolled the ball home.

It seemed that there was no coming back from that — Hilal are not a team that gives up two-goal leads — but as injury time started, Ettifaq were handed a lifeline in the shape of a penalty, and up stepped Vitinho to place the ball into the bottom corner.

Unfortunately for the visitors, it served just to wake up the hosts, who quickly restored their two-goal lead, though Gerrard angrily told officials that Mitrovic had committed a foul in the build-up. The home fans enjoyed the goal, however, as Malcom fed Mohammed Al-Qahtani who turned 360 degrees to make a little space in the area and then fired a low shot home.

It got even worse for Ettifaq as Abdullah Radif was sent off for shoving Ali Al-Bulaihi in the neck. There really was no coming back from that.

All in all, it was a perfect evening’s work for Al-Hilal, even if Saudi Arabia coach Herve Renard will be a little concerned that star man Salem Al-Dawsari seemed to pick up an injury — with the trip to Australia for a vital World Cup qualifier next Thursday.

Elsewhere, Al-Ahli bounced back from their defeat in the Jeddah Derby to defeat Al-Raed 2-0.


Paul Waring shoots 61 in Abu Dhabi to set 36-hole record on European tour with 19-under par

Updated 08 November 2024
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Paul Waring shoots 61 in Abu Dhabi to set 36-hole record on European tour with 19-under par

  • Waring, who opened with a 64 on Thursday, made nine birdies and an eagle in a bogey-free round at Yas Links
  • Rory McIlroy made a triple bogey on No. 17 in his second successive 67

ABU DHABI: Paul Waring hit the shot of his life to complete a career-low 11-under 61 in the second round of the Abu Dhabi Championship on Friday and establish a five-stroke lead heading into the weekend of the European tour’s first playoff event.
The No. 229-ranked Englishman hit a draw with a 3-wood from about 260 yards to inside 4 feet at No. 18 and tapped in the birdie putt to move to 19-under par for the tournament.
The European tour confirmed to The Associated Press that it is the lowest 36-hole score to par in the tour’s history.
Waring, who opened with a 64 on Thursday, made nine birdies and an eagle in a bogey-free round at Yas Links and set a course record.
First-round leader Tommy Fleetwood of England (68), Johannes Veerman of the United States (67) and Danish players Niklas Norgaard (65) and Thorbjorn Olesen (67) were tied for second place on 14 under.
Rory McIlroy made a triple bogey on No. 17 in his second successive 67 and was nine strokes off the lead.
McIlroy can clinch a sixth Race to Dubai title with a win this week.


Slot not surprised by flying start at Liverpool

Updated 08 November 2024
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Slot not surprised by flying start at Liverpool

  • Slot appeared to have a tough ask to follow Jurgen Klopp
  • The Dutch coach has won 14 and drawn one of his 16 matches in charge

Liverpool: Arne Slot said he is not shocked by a stunning start to life in charge of Liverpool as the Reds have stormed to the top of the Premier League and Champions League.
The Dutch coach has won 14 and drawn one of his 16 matches in charge in all competitions as the holders have also progressed to the League Cup quarter-finals.
Slot appeared to have a tough ask to follow Jurgen Klopp.
But he has built on the solid foundations left by the German after Liverpool finished third in the Premier League behind Manchester City and Arsenal last season.
“Surprise isn’t the right word I’d use because I knew the quality of our team. But quality is one thing, to be consistent is a second thing,” said Slot at his pre-match press conference ahead of hosting Aston Villa on Saturday.
“From the moment I started working with them I saw how much energy they put in on a daily basis and that is I think the reason you can be consistent.”
Liverpool were inspired by the power of the Anfield crowd to come from behind to beat Brighton 2-1 last weekend to move two points ahead of City at the top of the Premier League.
A similar atmosphere helped blow Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen away 4-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Slot is keen to keep his players’ feet on the ground but is happy for the fans to get excited about the possibility of just a second league title in 35 years.
“If the end result of them being excited is to bring the atmosphere of the second half against Brighton and the whole game against Leverkusen, I am hoping they will keep being excited because that atmosphere helped us a lot,” added the former Feyenoord boss.
Diogo Jota remains sidelined but should return after November’s international break.


Pakistan’s Muhammad Asif wins IBSF World Snooker Championship in Qatar

Updated 08 November 2024
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Pakistan’s Muhammad Asif wins IBSF World Snooker Championship in Qatar

  • Asif defeated Iran’s Ali Ghareghozlou 5-3 to clinch the title for 3rd time
  • PM Shehbaz Sharif promises to set up world-class facilities for sportsmen

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has congratulated Pakistani cueist Muhammad Asif for winning the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF) World Snooker Championship in Qatar for the third time, Pakistani state-run media reported on Thursday.
Asif defeated Iran’s Ali Ghareghozlou 5-3 to clinch the title in a thrilling final on Nov. 6. He outclassed Ali 5-3: 70-25, 7-87(84), 82(56)-8, 106(106)-08, 82-12, 43-91(58), 0-118 and 93(80)-4.
“Asif made the entire nation proud by winning the international championship for the third time,” PM Sharif was quoted as saying by the Radio Pakistan broadcaster. “The talented youth of Pakistan are highlighting the country’s name in the fields of sports.”
The IBSF, founded in 1971, is the governing body for billiards and snooker worldwide. It represents 85 member countries and is recognized by the World Confederation of Billiard Sports and the International Olympic Committee.
Asif, 42, first won the IBSF World Snooker Championship in 2012 and went on to win it again in 2019. His victory ties him with India’s Pankaj Advani who has also won the World Snooker Championship thrice.
The Pakistan prime minister said Asif’s family and coach also deserved recognition, adding that providing quality facilities to Pakistani players was top priority of his government.
“The government is making all possible efforts to provide international standard facilities to the players,” he added.