Master of controllables, Ons Jabeur controls her destiny

Midway through the first-set tiebreaker of her Wimbledon semifinal win over Aryna Sabalenka, Ons Jabeur hit a spectacular running forehand down the line, knifing the ball flat just over the net as it whizzed past an approaching Sabalenka to fashion a 4-2 lead. It had the weight of a clinching moment in what had been a tight set of the highest quality.
It wasn’t. Sabalenka dialled in to win five of the next six points, and then four of the next six games, to give her a gaping lead to reach her second Major final of the year. But Jabeur, having been in this exact position two nights ago, was not going to let go, winning 10 of the next 13 games, prevailing in a fierce three-set epic to reach her second successive Wimbledon final.
The over three-hour long encounter was an exhibition of the kind of spectacle that the quick, low-bouncing grass courts at SW19, met with the jeopardy of the latter stages of a Grand Slam, can create.
The level of tennis from both sides of the court was extremely high in the first set, that was decided on the highest of margins. The points were not baseline marathons as much as they were action-packed sprints. Jabeur needed the entire array of shots in her crafty game to counter Sabalenka’s ability to find enormous power from the baseline through her clean, flat groundstrokes. Backhand slices, drop shots, big serves and returns were flowing as momentum ebbed and flowed.
At the back end of the first set, and throughout the beginning of the second, it was Sabalenka’s power that allowed her to dictate proceedings, Jabeur having no choice but to try to blunt the force and contend with her opponent from the baseline, faltering at the task.
But Jabeur had been here before, having dealt with power players all week. After a mere 16-9 win-loss record this year and a draw splattered with tough assignments, last year’s runner-up wasn’t one of the favourites in London this year. But she blew past the in-form two-time champion Petra Kvitova 6-0, 6-3 and then came back after losing the first set tiebreaker to defeat Elena Rybakina 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1 in the quarterfinal.
Raising her game
Another comeback was never fully in doubt, and as soon as Sabalenka sailed ahead going up a set and a break, Jabeur returned to her natural playing style, raising her level to make sure she can pounce once her opponent falters.
The 5’6’ Jabeur may not boast of any obvious strengths, but she is a master of the controllables. As Sabalenka served 4-2 up in the second, Jabeur added extra revs of speed on her return, placing it low and deep.
The flatness of her own groundstrokes, and her ability to carve out slices from any position of the court, kept the ball impossibly low and took it out of Sabalenka’s strike zone to blunt some of her power. Jabeur was moving her opponent on the court more to usurp control, and getting past her as she was made to approach the net more often.
The scoreline may suggest otherwise but Sabalenka did not take this lying down. She retrieved low bouncing shots almost kneeling to the ground, but did not let the power and pace fall. She continued to serve impressively, and added drop shots and slices of her own.
But just as it had done in the second, it was Jabeur’s return that carved the breakthrough in the third. Throughout the set, Jabeur made sure she would not just succumb to Sabalenka’s power, getting more balls in play, especially on return. The Tunisian returned nearly 80% of first serves successfully in the deciding set, Sabalenka returned nearly 40%. She won 14 return points in the decider, compared to Sabalenka’s six.
Pivotal moment
The seventh game of the third, which ran for longer than 15 minutes, ended up being the pivotal moment. Jabeur’s continuous ability to return Sabalenka’s big serve with interest piled on the pressure and eventually broke through. Another swing – in a match full of momentum shifts – looked on the cards, but on her fifth match point, Jabeur knifed a wide slice serve to take the 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3 win.
For Sabalenka, a month after losing her French Open semifinal despite having two match points, another defeat after a big lead will be concerning. Jabeur will now have a second crack at the Wimbledon title, and a third at a Grand Slam, when she takes on Czech Republic’s Marketa Vondrousova in the final on Saturday.
Vondrousova put in a commanding 6-3, 6-3 win in the day’s first semifinal to end the dream run of Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, who was not only representing a war-torn nation, but also reached the semifinal at SW19, and quarterfinal at the French Open, less than a year after giving birth to her first child.