NEW DELHI: Ons Jabeur, the Tunisian tennis player, has set her sights on claiming her first Grand Slam title and believes the romantic ambience of Paris will aid her in achieving that goal. She achieved a significant milestone by reaching the quarter-finals of the French Open for the first time in her career.
Currently ranked number seven in the world, Jabeur experienced heartbreak last year after losing in the finals of Wimbledon and the US Open. However, she demonstrated her determination by securing a convincing 6-3, 6-1 victory over Bernarda Pera to advance to the quarter-finals at Roland Garros.
In addition to her personal success, Jabeur also etched her name in the history books by becoming the first African player, in the Open Era, to reach the quarter-finals at all four Grand Slam tournaments.
With the passionate atmosphere and rich history of the French Open in Paris, Jabeur hopes to harness that energy and continue her impressive run in the tournament as she pursues her dream of winning a major title.
"Paris is always romantic, day or night. Winning here will definitely be an amazing memory for me. For now, I just want to take it one match at a time," Jabeur told reporters.
"I will have a very difficult quarter-final. I was just taking it one match at a time, trying to make it to the second week. Now I'm going to push more for the next few matches."
Jabeur, who meets Sara Sorribes Tormo or 14th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia for a place in the semis, has endured a stop-start season in which she had minor knee surgery before winning the Charleston title and skipping Madrid with a calf problem.
"I have learned a lot how to accept things, either good or bad," Jabeur said. "For me, being injured was part of my path, how the season would have started here this year.\
"I worked a lot on my mental health and worked a lot on how to manage all this, because I believe there is a lot of injuries are connected to our emotional part. I'm trying to manage that.
"The season is still long, so hopefully no more injuries and I can continue in a great path."
(With Reuters inputs)Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
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