Ons Jabeur showed that it is sometimes better to float like a butterfly than sting like a bee as her wily artistry overcame the brutal hitting of Aryna Sabalenka to reach her second Wimbledon final with a 6-7(5) 6-4 6-3 victory on Thursday.
Jabeur, who was beaten in last year's final, looked destined to suffer more heartbreak on Centre Court when she lost the opening set, but her delicate strokeplay and clever angles eventually subdued the relentless power of Belarusian Sabalenka.
"I'm very proud of myself because maybe the old me would have lost the match today and went back home already, but I'm glad that I kept digging very deep and finding the strength," she said. The second seed possessed an envious recent Grand Slam record having won the Australian Open in January and reached the last four at Roland Garros while the world number one spot was hers had she beaten Jabeur.The opening set was tight with both players seeing break points slip through their fingers before it moved into a tiebreak.
By this point Sabalenka had started grunting loudly on serve, with some of her roars lasting so long they extended beyond her opponent's return and almost joined up with her next loud exhalation. A double fault from Sabalenka gave Jabeur a break point before her opponent netted a forehand for 4-4.
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