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Ons Jabeur registered a straight-sets victory over Daria Kasatkina on Saturday, securing her spot in the 2023 Charleston Open final for the second year in a row. Jabeur beat Kasatkina 7-5, 7-5 in the semifinals to give herself another chance of lifting the trophy in Charleston.
During the on-court interview after the match, Jabeur hailed Kasatkina as a tough competitor who made her opponents work very hard. Happy to have outlasted the Russian in an hour and 47 minutes, Jabeur jokingly wished that the other semifinal match - between top seed Jessica Pegula and defending champion Belinda Bencic - lasted even longer.
"I mean, Daria never lets you get a point easy, you know she makes you run all around the court. She is such a competitive [player] and it was a great night for both of us. I mean hopefully I don’t know Jess and Bencic will play longer than us," Jabeur said.
Bencic currently leads 7-5, 6-6 in the clash, but due to a rain interruption the match will only be completed on Sunday.
Ons Jabeur herself had to deal with a rain delay, which lasted over three hours. The Tunisian revealed that she had a conversation with her coach during the break which helped her elevate her game and ultimately emerge victorious.
"Well, I gotta thank the rain to start with because it allowed me to talk to my coach a bit and he gave me some advice. And to reflect about what happened in the first set was, I mean, my game was there. I just needed to find something small and I was more patient definitely after and I was building my point more and that really helped me," she said.
"I feel like Michael Schumacher" - Ons Jabeur on her popularity in Tunisia
Following her quarterfinal win against Anna Kalinskaya at the 2023 Charleston Open, Ons Jabeur had a conversation with Tennis Channel's Steve Weissman and the recently retired Andrea Petkovic.
During the interview Jabeur disclosed that her popularity among Tunisians has surged significantly thanks to her success over the past year. Jabeur reached back-to-back Grand Slam finals in 2022, at Wimbledon and the US Open, and rose to a career-high World No. 2 in the WTA rankings.
“It’s really amazing, you know. The part that changed a lot is, even going to have a coffee or something, people come and support me,” she said.
The 28-year-old further revealed that her compatriots cheer her on even during her daily drives, which makes her feel like the legendary F1 driver Michael Schumacher.
“[Even when I am] driving, people are shouting - Ons! I feel like Michael Schumacher. Driving, you know,” she laughed.
