World No. 2 Tunisian Anas Jaber will continue her fine career at the English Wimbledon Championships, the third Grand Slam of tennis and reach the final in her quest for the precious title for the first time in her professional career when she faces her German “friend” Tatjana Maria returning from childbirth for the second time.
Jaber, at the age of twenty-seven, made Grand Slam history, especially Wimbledon, by reaching the semi-finals, which was an achievement for the Arabs at Grand Slam tournaments.
– “Very good family” –
Jaber said at a press conference after advancing to the semi-finals at the expense of Czech Marie Bozhkova: “My achievement for the Arabs and Africa means a lot to me. Barrier”.
She indicated that she had exchanged several messages with former Moroccan tennis star Hisham Arazi prior to her confrontation with Bozkova and assured her that the quarter-finals of major tournaments represented a permanent knot for the Arabs and asked her to untie it, emphasizing that she replied: “I will try, my friend, but don’t put this responsibility on me.”
And continued” (Arazi, who was eliminated from the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam tournaments 4 times), was happy after the match and thanked me for the success in finally untangling this knot and reaching the semi-finals, and now I can go far and win the title.
But Jaber’s path to the crown first goes through her veteran friend Maria, 34, who is doing well in the Premier League and just 15 months ago gave birth to her second child, Cecilia.
And the Tunisian commented on Maria’s confrontation, saying: “Maria had a difficult draw in the tournament, especially her victory over (Latvian Elena) Ostapenko and (Greek) Maria Sakkari, where she played really very well, I know that she can play very well at grass courts, so I have to be ready for that.”
Jaber, who has bested Maria in the three matches that have brought them together so far, added: “Our match will be full of short falling balls. I expect it, but I will play my match. I know that I can be fighting or play short falling balls, I can change the rhythm of the game.
“I have to be ready for a ball like this, especially after I watched her match against (French) Barry, where she played a lot of short falling balls. I should talk to my trainer and see (what he has to say).”
Jaber referred to her good relationship with Maria’s family and said, “I joked with her daughter Charlotte and told her that your mother’s mother will support me in an attempt to divert the support of two children to me, but she is a very good family.” and I am very glad that she has achieved what she deserves, because she has suffered so much and after two births it is not easy to return to the game at the highest level.
And she added: “It will be a great match between us, much respect. Of course, we won’t be friends for two hours, or I don’t know how long the match will take, and then we’ll be friends after.” This is the end.”
– “Maybe profitability is better than points” –
“Her two girls are so sweet and it’s great to see her in the league with them and the fact that she’s back in the game and doing her best while she deserves to be here. I love her daughter Charlotte, she plays tennis and it’s a pleasure to watch her play, and little Cecilia always smiles and behaves possessively, ”she said. Great energy. I love this family in general, once they invited me to their house, and it was great to be with them.
It is noteworthy that Maria is participating in the Grand Slam tournaments for the 46th time in her professional career (including qualifications), and she has never managed to get past the third round. The two became the eighth player born in 1987 to reach the semi-finals of a major tournament. The first player was Russian Maria Sharapova in 2004 at Wimbledon.
Maria is currently ranked 103rd in the world knowing that her best ranking in her professional career was 46th in November 2017, after returning from her first maternity leave in 2014.
She issued a warning last April when she took her second Bogotá title as a rookie in qualifying, where she finished 237th. Her first title was in Mallorca, Spain in 2018.
But Jaber, crowned with three titles in her career, including two titles this season as she shines remarkably (Madrid and Berlin) and finished second on the ad list, seems more determined to keep writing history.
I talked about the decision not to award points at Wimbledon due to the fact that the organizers banned the participation of Russian and Belarusian players due to the invasion of Ukraine, especially since things are going well in the current draw.
She said: “To not lie, the better you play, the more grief you have because you didn’t score, and to be honest, I look not only at myself, but also at Tatyana, who is struggling I tried to come back and get invitation cards, but it was not easy, and now I have made the trip. Great, and you won’t get a single point.”
“Whatever it is, we need to stop focusing on points, and maybe the financial return will be better,” she concluded with a smile.
Source: El Iktisad