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Aryna Sabalenka was a set away from taking the World No. 1 spot from Iga Swiatek, but thanks to Ons Jabeur, the Pole will hang on to it for some more time.
Facing off in the semifinals of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships, Sabalenka took the first set against Jabeur in the tiebreaker 7-6(5). The Belarusian was solid in the second set, too, and looked on course to making her first final at SW19.
With Swiatek having exited the tournament in the quarterfinals, falling to former World No. 3 Elina Svitolina, all Sabalenka had to do to become World No. 1 was reach the final. However, Jabeur staged a remarkable comeback, taking the second set 6-4, reeling off four straight games to force a decider.
In the third set, it was the Tunisian all the way, breaking serve in the sixth game to take the set 6-3 as the former World No. 2 reached consecutive Wimbeldon finals. Last year, she lost to Elena Rybakina in the title match, a loss which she avenged at SW19 this week in the quarterfinals.
Interestingly, Aryna Sabalenka had addressed the possibility of becoming the World No. 1 ahead of her semifinal clash at SW19, saying that she did not want to be distracted by such things.
"I'm trying to focus on myself because I know if I'll start thinking about all this stuff, I'm going to lose my focus on court, my game," Sabalenka had said at her press conference after her quarterfinal win.
In the live rankings, Sabalenka (8845) is now less than 500 points behind No. 1 Swiatek (9315).
Ons Jabeur to take on Marketa Vondrousova in Wimbledon final after downing Aryna Sabalenka
Following her win over Aryna Sabalenka, Ons Jabeur will take on Marketa Vondrousova in the final of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. The Czech bested Elina Svitolina on Thursday to reach her second Grand Slam final, having previously reached the 2019 French Open title match.
Jabeur, meanwhile, is into her third Grand Slam final. The Tunisian also reached the final at the US Open last year, where she fell to World No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
