Ons Jabeur takes first small step toward lofty targets with fine win at Abu Dhabi WTA Women’s Tennis Open

Tunisian seals 7-6, 6-3 victory over Pavlyuchenkova after an entertaining encounter at Zayed Sports City

Ons Jabeur during the first round of the 2021 Abu Dhabi WTA Women's Tennis Open. Courtesy WTA

Ons Jabeur has made it plainly clear what she wants to achieve this year: only titles and a top 10 ranking will do. Now the season is officially underway, the Tunisian world No 31 has begun her quest.

It is, of course, very early days but Jabeur’s first round display at the inaugural Abu Dhabi WTA Women’s Tennis Open on Wednesday showed a player on a mission. Facing a dangerous opponent in Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – a former world No 13 and six-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist – Jabeur came through a scintillating match with a 7-6, 6-3 victory.

“It was a good one for me,” Jabeur, 26, said. “It was a tough match, not an easy first round. I went in with a fearless spirit and I’m just going to give it my all. I’m feeling fit, so hopefully I can continue playing this way and even better.”

In a contest between two attacking and powerful players, it was always going to be a spectacle, and so it proved as big serves and groundstrokes flew off both racquets. But there was also plenty of variety, deft touches, and creativity, providing a constant supply entertaining rallies.

A closely fought first set, with exchanges of breaks in the fifth and sixth games, needed to be settled in a tie-break, although Pavlyuchenkova had two set points to clinch the opener when Jabeur served at 4-5.

The Russian was made to rue those squandered chances as Jabeur sealed the tie-break 7-3.

After that tense opening battle, the momentum swung firmly Jabeur's way, with the Tunisian racing into a 5-1 lead in the second set.

From there, victory looked signed, sealed, and delivered but Pavlyuchenkova threatened to force a decider when she broke back, held serve, and had three break points to get the set back on serve. Jabeur held her nerve, though, and sealed the win on her first match point.

“I’m happy with the way I responded to her coming back [into the match],” said Jabeur, who hit 31 winners and will face either Kateryna Bondarenko or Yafan Wang in the second round.

Of all the matches on the first day in Abu Dhabi, it was this one where the absence of fans was most keenly felt. After each exhilarating point, and there were many, the deathly silence that followed was just strange.

That’s not even taking into consideration who was playing. Jabeur is immensely popular with fans in the Middle East and her matches at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships frequently create the best atmospheres of the tournament.

“I always remember the matches I play in Dubai and Doha,” she said. “It’s amazing to play in front of the fans, and honestly, it’s a shame that there is no crowd because I know a lot of Tunisians wanted to come here and support me.”

Fans or no fans, Jabeur is remaining focused on her targets and the win over Pavlyuchenkova is the first step on a long and exciting journey ahead.

“It’s most important for me to believe in myself,” she said. “I know that I can be better. I showed that I can win matches like this last year. The challenge for me now is to go further and win titles.”

If Jabeur is to win the title in Abu Dhabi she will have to overcome plenty of strong competition, including from Greek ninth seed Maria Sakkari, who also impressed on the opening day with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Anastasia Potapova.

“I think it’s the fastest court I’ve played on by far on the WTA Tour,” Sakkari, 25, said. “But we have to adapt and I’m thankful that we have a tournament at the beginning of the year.

“For me coming from Europe, it’s good preparation for Australia. The weather is perfect here and perfect to get ready for Australia.”

However, Sakkari’s playing partner at the Australian Open next month, Anett Kontaveit, was the first seeded player to fall in Abu Dhabi. The Estonian 10th seed, struggling initially with blisters on her hands, was defeated 7-5, 6-1 by Veronika Kudermetova.

The many seeded players starting their campaigns on Thursday will be aiming to avoid the same fate as Kontaveit. The top seven players in the field are all in action, headlined by top seed and Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, who faces qualifier Zhaoxuan Yan.