She had felt like a zombie this week in New York, because of a nasty virus, but Ons Jabeur recovered just in time on Saturday to fend off the Czech Marie Bouzkova in three sets: 5-7 7-6(5) 6 -3.
The fifth seeded Tunisian will meet the Chinese Zheng Qinwen in the fourth round, who in turn defeated the Italian Lucia Bronzetti in three sets: 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
Jabeur may be known as ‘lucky’ in the circuit, but the great favorite of American tennis fans had little reason to laugh on Saturday. She made mistakes, which Bouzkova took advantage of in the first set.
Medical timeout
But Bouzkova himself was not fit at all. The Czech took a medical time-out off the field in the seventh game after a break in the second set. Despite a leg injury, she kept up the fight, even though she occasionally limped across the field and lost the second set via the tiebreak.
After almost three hours of play, she only gave in. In the third set, she gave away a crucial break in the sixth game with a double fault and hit the ball into the net on match point.
,,It was a very tough match for both of us”, said Jabeur, last year’s losing finalist. “She just kept going. I did what I could today. She’s a great player.”
Jabeur awaits a tough opponent in the fourth round. In the last meeting against Zheng in Toronto in 2022, she had to stop fighting. ,,She gave me a good beating there”, said Jabeur. “I learned a lot from that. She has a very good forehand. It will certainly be difficult.”
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