Ons Jabeur lost already in her second match at the 2023 Guadalajara Open, when Martina Trevisan eliminated her in three sets.
The 29-year-old Tunisian is one of the most talented players on the WTA Tour, and certainly the most talented tennis player from Africa, having recorded multiple milestones as the 'first African player.'
One of the milestones that she's yet to record is becoming the first African woman to win a Grand Slam title, and she got close to it on multiple occasions. Last year, Jabeur played in two Grand Slam finals, and this year, she lost in the Wimbledon final to Marketa Vondrousova.
And it's been since then that the Tunisian has struggled with her game, admitting that the loss was the most painful of her career. After losing at the US Open and in San Diego, Jabeur entered the 2023 Guadalajara Open on a two-match losing streak, but she broke that in her opening round against Alycia Parks.
In the third round of the tournament, the top seed, who wanted to capitalize on the absence of Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, clashed with Martina Trevisan, who has an experience with playing major semifinal.
The first set was a very close one. Jabeur had an incredible number of break points, a total of 12, but she used only one, while her opponent did the same thing, despite only having that one chance to break.
That meant that the opening set had to be decided in a tie-break, and it would have been another heartbreak for the Tunisian if she couldn't win that. But after starting on a back foot, Jabeur turned the tie-break around, winning it 7-4.
But if Jabeur avoided a heartbreak in the opening set, it was about to come in the second set of the match. She was up a break twice, even serving for the match at 5-4 and leading 30-0. But none of that mattered as Trevisan won three consecutive games to win the second set 7-5 and force the decider.
This time around, it was the Italian who got the first break, and even though the top seed responded with a quick re-break, Jabeur then lost a 40-15 lead on her serve, as Trevisan cruised to a surprising win 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-3.
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