Tunisian Anas Jaber, ranked fifth in the world, became the first Arab and African player to reach the semi-finals of the US Open, after defeating Australian Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) in the quarter-finals.
The Tunisian, who won second place at Wimbledon last July, became the first Arab and African player to achieve this feat and reach the round of four in the singles at the US Open Tennis Championships.
The 28-year-old Jaber will meet in the next round with French Caroline Garcia (17), who beat American Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-4 in a tumultuous atmosphere, in her quest to reach her second Grand Slam final after she lost the Wimbledon final, the third tournament. The Big Four, in front of the Kazakh Elena Rybakina, in early July.
After the match, Jaber said: “This win means a lot to me. I believe in myself more. After Wimbledon, things were positive. Even though I lost the final, I knew inside that I could win a major tournament and here I am in the semi-finals.”
Jaber was nicknamed “Minister of Happiness” out of sympathy for the joy she brings to her countrymen. However, she admitted that her nervousness got over her at times on Tuesday, when she hit her racket several times.
She joked, “I think I’m going to be fired from my job as Minister of Happiness. It’s hard to control anger. I apologize for my behaviour. I really wanted to stay calm but the bat kept slipping out of my hand.”
It is noteworthy that Jaber has never passed the third round in Flushing Meadows before this year.
Reaction and congratulations on the achievement
The pioneers of social media platforms in Tunisia and the Arab countries were quick to congratulate Tunisian player Anas Jaber for her achievement in the US Open Tennis Championships.
Ali Saeed Al Kaabi wrote in a tweet via his Twitter account: “Anas Jaber is another girl that makes us happy, an Arab woman reaches the semi-finals of America after the Wimbledon final, until recently, it was a fantasy, congratulations Bint Tunisia.”
Journalist Lotfi Masoudi commented on Jaber’s victory, “God bless you, Anas. Thank you, Anas.. Anas is making history once again.. Our hearts are with you, Minister of Happiness.”
Tunisian artist Saber Al-Rubai also expressed his joy at Anas Jaber’s victory, wishing her success.
Jaber’s “unique” Garcia complex
Jaber settled the first set in her favour, 6-4, but the Australian, who ousted Serena Williams from the third round in the last game for the American before her initial retirement, turned the table in the second and advanced 5-3 and was one game away to settle it in her favour, but the Tunisian succeeded in breaking her serve. The difference to 4-5 and then imposed a tie 5-5 and 6-6 and thus a tie-breaker in which the last word was 7-4.
As for Garcia, who reached the first major semi-final in her career, she had previously met with Jaber six times, four of them in the women’s category and two in the WTA competitions, and the Tunisian woman won in all of them.
Garcia commented, “It was a huge challenge for me when I was facing her in the women’s tournaments. She had a very unique style. She stood in my way several times during the women’s Grand Slam tournaments. It’s fun that we now face the US Open semi-finals.”
She continued, “At the youngsters, it was very rare for someone to hit that many tumbles or slashes on the backhand. She changed the type of kicks a lot. It was very difficult to face her… and now more.”
Sabalenka reaches the semi-finals for the second time in a row
In addition, the Belarusian, ranked sixth in the world, Arina Sabalenka, reached the semi-finals of the tournament, for the second year in a row, by defeating the Czech Karolina Pliskova, runner-up in the 2016 edition, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) on Wednesday.
Sabalenka, 24, who is seeking her first grand slam title in which she reached the last four times in the past (Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows last year), needed an hour and 21 minutes to win her third victory over Pliskova out of 5 matches between them without having to Save any chance for the latter to break his Belarusian serve.
Sabalenka, who is playing the tournament as a neutral without her country’s knowledge against the backdrop of Belarus’ support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, will meet in the semi-finals, the winner of the match against Poland’s first-ranked Iga Šviontik and American Jessica Pegula, eighth.