Ons Jabeur books return to final at rainy Charleston
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Ons Jabeur of Tunisia against Russia's Daria Kasatkina during the WTA Charleston Open semi-finals.
PHOTO: AFP
WASHINGTON – Ons Jabeur booked a return to the WTA final in Charleston on Saturday, but she had to wait to learn who her opponent is after rain halted the second semi-final.
The second seed, who finished runner-up to Belinda Bencic on the green clay courts of South Carolina in 2022, said a rain delay of more than three hours proved advantageous in her 7-5, 7-5 victory over third-seeded Daria Kasatkina.
As the Tunisian struggled with her first serve, Kasatkina raced to a 4-1 lead in the opening set but Jabeur broke the Russian as she served for the set at 5-2.
Kasatkina was serving to extend the set at 5-3 when rain halted play and Jabeur, who was sidelined in February after knee surgery in the wake of the Australian Open, came out of the break strong. The world No. 5 saved two set points to hold and won 12 of the next 15 points to pocket the set.
“I have to thank the rain,” the 28-year-old said, adding that it gave her time to talk to her coach and “reflect on what happened in the first set”.
“My game was there, I just needed to find something small,” added Jabeur, who was broken to open the second set but gained a decisive break in the final game to finish it out and reach her first final of 2023.
On Sunday, the 2022 Wimbledon and the US Open runner-up was due to play for her first title since a grass-court triumph in Berlin last June.
Kasatkina, 25, said she was frustrated by the delay, which meant the match ended more than five hours after it began.
“I just wish all tennis was played indoors like most of the other sports,” she said.
The second semi-final, between top-seeded American Jessica Pegula and fourth-seeded Bencic, was also interrupted and, with heavy weather expected to linger, play was halted for the night with their match in a second-set tiebreak.
Bencic had won the first set 7-5, but the second was knotted at 6-6 with Pegula up 4-2 in the tiebreak when the match was stopped, as the light rain that had fallen through several games intensified. AFP, REUTERS
