• Tunisia's Ons Jabeur after defeating Ajla Tomljanovic during the quarter-finals of the US Open in New York on September 6. AP
    Tunisia's Ons Jabeur after defeating Ajla Tomljanovic during the quarter-finals of the US Open in New York on September 6. AP
  • Ons Jabeur celebrates her victory. Getty
    Ons Jabeur celebrates her victory. Getty
  • Ons Jabeur greets Ajla Tomljanovic after winning. AP
    Ons Jabeur greets Ajla Tomljanovic after winning. AP
  • Ons Jabeur of Tunisia celebrates. Getty
    Ons Jabeur of Tunisia celebrates. Getty
  • Tunisia's Ons Jabeur returns a shot to Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia. AP
    Tunisia's Ons Jabeur returns a shot to Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia. AP
  • Ajla Tomljanovic returns a shot to Ons Jabeur. AP
    Ajla Tomljanovic returns a shot to Ons Jabeur. AP
  • Ons Jabeur throws her racket after losing a point. EPA
    Ons Jabeur throws her racket after losing a point. EPA
  • Ons Jabeur celebrates after winning her quarter-final match against Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic. Reuters
    Ons Jabeur celebrates after winning her quarter-final match against Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic. Reuters
  • Ajla Tomljanovic reacts after losing a point. EPA
    Ajla Tomljanovic reacts after losing a point. EPA

Ons Jabeur reaches US Open semi-finals with straight-sets win


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Ons Jabeur became the first Arab woman to reach the US Open semi-finals with victory over Ajla Tomljanovic on Tuesday.

After making the final at Wimbledon, the Tunisian is the first African through to the last four of the tournament following a 6-4, 7-6 success against Tomljanovic.

The Australian did not allow the hoopla of her third-round victory over Serena Williams to distract her from focusing on the rest of the tournament as she targeted a best grand slam performance.

But fifth seed Jabeur used her all-round skills to overcome the power of Tomljanovic, fighting back from 5-3 down in the second set to book her place in the last four.

Jabeur said: “Ajla plays really good. Even emotionally it was tough to manage the frustration when you have breaks and she keeps fighting.

“I’m just trying to do my job here and hopefully I’ll inspire more and more generations from Africa. It really means a lot to me.

“Definitely I believe more in myself. I made it to the final at Wimbledon so I believe I can make it another time. I know that I have it in me that I can win a grand slam and here I am in the semi-finals of the US Open.”

Jabeur showed her frustration at times with several throws of her racket, and she said with a smile: “I apologise for my behaviour really. I wanted to keep calm but the racket kept slipping away from my hand.”

Updated: September 06, 2022, 9:38 PM