(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Ons Jabeur is no Naomi Osaka. But as the flag-bearer of African and Arab tennis, the talented Tunisian's is an inspiring story.
The first Arab player to reach a WTA final, Jabeur proved yet again that she has what it takes to write new chapters in the history of African tennis with another impressive display on Monday as she beat world number 25 Donna Vekic of Croatia 6-4 7-6 (11/9) in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Inspired by the passionate support from her flag-waving compatriots under a beautiful Dubai sky, Jabeur, the highest-ranked Arab player at 56, held her nerve in a dramatic second-set tie-break to carve out a straight-set win, setting up a dream second round clash with world number seven and two-time defending champion Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.
"It's always a pleasure to be in Dubai. It's feels like home. Thank you guys for cheering. It was a very difficult time in the second set. But thanks to them I eventually managed to win this tough game," Jabeur said after the match.
The 24-year-old player said it was an honour for her to enter the Premier Five Dubai tournament on merit, and not on a wild card. "It's very important, especially this year I have got into this tournament because of my ranking," she said.
"I was hoping to do this for a long time. I was telling Mr Salah Tahlak, the Tournament Director, that I would come one year on the basis of my ranking, not on a wild card. And he was cheering for me. Hopefully this time I can do better and get my best result in Dubai."
Jabeur, who beat three top-25 players at the Kremlin Cup last October before losing the final to world number 14 Daria Kasatkina, knows the expectations will soar if she pulls off a shock win over Svitolina.
And the die-hard Real Madrid fan also knows that results like that will inspire kids to pick up a tennis racquet in the football-mad Africa.
"Well, I'm now the Naomi Osaka of Africa," she smiled.
"Yeah, it's inspiring to see how players can inspire a country or a continent. For me, I'm really happy to represent Tunisia. I'm trying to give my best and trying to give good example for the young generation who want to achieve what I'm doing right now," she said.
"I'm trying to send a message that it's not impossible. You have to work hard. Why not? I want to see a lot of players from Tunisia playing here one day. It's one of my dreams."
But Jabeur admitted that her dream could never be realised unless countries like Tunisia start spending on youth programmes.
"There are facilities here (in Dubai), but it's not the same in Tunisia. We wish we had facilities there," she said.
"You need to have a good programme for them, but the most important thing is that the players, they want to be champions. I hope the Arab world can see that."
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