Dream script for women's final
Wimbledon: Ons Jabeur versus Elena Rybakina, who would have thought these two ladies would be contesting the ladies singles final at Wimbledon on Saturday. No, not the pundits or the punters.
At the hallowed precincts of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, Jabeur became the first Arab woman to storm into the final, whipping Tatjana Maria 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. In the second semi-final, Russian born Elena, now representing Kazakhstan, dumped 2019 champion Simona Halep 6-3, 6-3.
The beauty about sport lies in its unpredictability. More so, in women's tennis, where unsung players come out firing, as if there is nothing called pressure. For Ons Jabeur to beat her friend in three sets was a dream come true. However, for Elena to conquer Simona Halep was a sign of how lesser known players can be dangerous.
These days, tennis on grass is not like before. In the good old days of Martina Navratilova and then German queen Steffi Graf, playing in Wimbledon meant possessing special skills. A strong serve backed by volleying skills and net play was essential.
How times have changed. Wimbledon has been changing the very complexion of the game many ways. The tennis ball has got heavier, the grass is no longer that fast. What it means is players are comfortable from the back court and keep hitting, without the fear of being passed.
Ah, how the heart craves for the tennis which Graf produced, or, for that matter, even Jana Novotna. They had the grass skills, which were so slick. Points would be completed in a jiffy.
Now, it's about hitting, counter-punching and grinding out points. It is, as if, tennis has now been standardised. Even the lady players have to be very strong, physically, possess a strong serving shoulder and work on their body for grinding out points.
Jabeur is definitely the talking point of The Championships, this time. Given her background and how much the Western media likes to focus on background, history, geography, skin colour and religion, she gets plenty of attention. For someone from North Africa to dent the field and make the final is truly sensational. Jabeur was taking on her friend on court. Two days ago, she said friendship would be forgotten when the two played.
Surely, the match was all about being competitive and producing the best strokes. Jabeur's win is a signal for the Arab world, that they can dream of making it big, even in tennis.
"Well, it's always about Tunisia somehow. I want to go bigger, inspire many more generations. Tunisia is connected to the Arab world, is connected to the African continent. The area, we want to see more players. It's not like Europe or any other countries. I want to see more players from my country, from the Middle East, from Africa," said Jabeur at the post match conference.
Asked about how she has shaped up on Wimbledon, Jabeur said: "Not to lie to you, the dream kind of started last year when I enjoyed playing here, enjoyed the crowd. I didn't play so many Wimbledons before. Usually it was the first and second round. It's tricky to play on grass. I knew I was playing good on grass because of my game and everything. I just love everything around here, the atmosphere and everything. It was my main goal from the beginning of the season, and even from last year. I just love it here. I don't know. Everything about the energy, I just love being here,"
In many way, Elena Rybakina winning her matches here has embarrassed Britain. Given the country's hard stand on the Russia versus Ukraine war, there was no scope for players from those two countries to play here. With Boris Johnson now exiting, changes are possible.
Elena was born in Russia but her shift to Kazakhstan is crucial. She opted for a shift to another country due to better support. If an Arab woman making the final is big news, then a player from Kazakhstan emerging so big was never on the cards.
It just goes to show how tennis is gaining in popularity the world over. Elena knows how to deal with pressure and tricky questions. Some are on court and some at the media interactions. Heck, she doesn't care much. Her performance graph this time has been out of the world and whacking Halep in a gallop stood out.
