Tunisian Ons Jabeur recovered from a poor start to defeat Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic and become the first Arab woman to win a singles match at Wimbledon since her compatriot Selima Sfar in 2005.
Jabeur, who had defeated Golubic en route to the Manchester title last month, as well as on her way to the Ilkley quarter-finals two weeks ago, needed one hour and 39 minutes to overcome the 84th-ranked Golubic 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 and reach the Wimbledon second round for the first time in her career.
Golubic broke Jabeur when she was serving for the second set, and again when the 130th-ranked Tunisian was serving for the match, but quick recovery from the crafty Jabeur secured the victory.
The 23-year-old Jabeur, who received a wildcard into Wimbledon after winning the $100k in Manchester, next faces Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova, who dismissed American No. 16 seed Coco Vandeweghe 6-7 (3), 6-3, 8-6.
More to follow…
