Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur has become the first African player to reach the final of any WTA 1000 event at the Madrid Open.
The world No. 10 defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-2 6-3 on Thursday in their semi-final, with Alexandrova competing under a neutral flag following the ban on Russian representation due to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
In their eighth meeting it proved to be just the second win for Jabeur, and she said after the win she was delighted to grab a rare victory.
“I felt like I was sick of losing against her all the time, so I came here to take my revenge,” Jabeur explained.
“I feel like this tournament is a revenge tournament, every match. I’m very glad with my performance. I know she plays really well, so I tried to really impose my rhythm.
“I’m very happy with the level I played.”
Jabeur broke Alexandrova four times in a dominant display, needing 61 minutes to complete victory in Spain. She had reached the semis after defeating Simona Halep in the quarter-final.
The 27-year-old has one trophy to her name, a WTA 250 win in Birmingham last year.
She will come up against either Jessica Pegula or Jill Teichmann, who play later on Thursday.
“I really hope they play for five hours and they become tired,” Jabeur joked.
“I’m just going to focus on myself, it’s been tough losing a few finals lately. I’m going to do my best and then give it all for this one.”
