French Open: Jabeur books spot in Round of 16 with win over Danilovic

Paris, June 4 (IANS) Ons Jabeur of Tunisia came back from a set down to defeat Serbian qualifier Olga Danilovic 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 and advance to the Round of 16 at the French Open Grand Slam tournament, here.

Having leveled the match at one set apiece, Jabeur continued her momentum in the final set. She broke Danilovic twice to build a 4-1 lead and did not relinquish her lead from there. She closed out the 2-hour and 12-minute comeback with a forehand flourish to seal the win on Saturday.

"For me, it's about a great transformation, great transformation of energy, of attitude on the court, of so many things. So hopefully the next step will be even better, and I can approach the second week stronger and ready to play better against lefties," Jabeur was quoted as saying by the WTA website.

The victory brings Jabeur's 2023 record on clay to 10-2, having pocketed the bulk of those wins during her title run in Charleston. She is one of four players to split the four biggest clay-court titles, along with No.1 Iga Swiatek (Stuttgart), No.2 Aryna Sabalenka (Madrid), and No.4 Elena Rybakina (Rome).

A junior champion in 2011, Jabeur, will face No.36 Bernarda Pera for a spot in her first Roland Garros quarter final on Monday.

The French Open remains the only Slam where the Tunisian has yet to make it past the Round of 16, having fallen at that stage in 2020 and 2021. The 28-year-old will face Pera for the first time since 2019. Their last meeting came on hard courts at 2019 Guangzhou, with Pera winning 6-4, 6-3.

Pera advanced to her first Round of 16 at a major with a trio of strong wins. After defeating former No.2 Anett Kontaveit in the first round, Pera defeated 22nd-seed Donna Vekic in the second round and Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the third round.

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