Jabeur overcomes Muguruza; sets up clash with Swiatek at Wimbledon

Ons Jabeur keeps making history.

Two weeks ago, the Tunisian became the first Arab woman to win a title when she lifted her maiden WTA trophy in Birmingham. Now, the No.21 seed has become the first to reach the second week of Wimbledon after winning a thriller over No.11 seed Garbiñe Muguruza 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 in 2 hours and 25 minutes.

In their only previous meeting, Muguruza had saved a match point before beating Jabeur 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) in the second round of Hobart 2020. In conjunction with their superb form this year, their third-round clash promised fireworks, and more than delivered. Jabeur conjured 43 winners to 27 unforced errors, and Muguruza found 32 winners to 26 unforced errors.

Jabeur's penchant for a hot shot was in full flow as she warmed to her Centre Court debut. A jumping backhand down the line, a forehand around the net post, a ridiculous pickup that transformed a return at her feet into an angled winner - the 26-year-old showcased her full repertoire with dazzling panache. Drop shots, of course, abounded, even straight off the return.

For the first half of the match, though, Muguruza's competitive instincts held sway. The Spaniard was under almost continuous pressure. She faced at least one break point in 10 of her 14 service games, and held on five of those occasions. In total, she saved 24 out of 29 break points, including 14 out of 17 through the first two sets.

In the first set, Muguruza weathered Jabeur's shot-making - as well as slips on the grass and ill-timed champagne bottles popping in the crowd - to deliver businesslike efficiency and clutch serving to extricate herself from trouble. Even when she failed to serve it out at the first time of asking, the 2017 champion simply knuckled down to forge ahead again.

But Jabeur was resilient as well, and did not let herself get derailed by her failure to convert so many break points. She simply continued to create opportunity after opportunity - and finally broke through for 5-3 in the second set after Muguruza sent a backhand long.

This seemed to unleash Jabeur. From 0-40 down when serving the set out, she hit a breathtaking zone to reel off 16 straight points - the longest streak on Centre Court since records started to be kept in 2002.

Muguruza responded valiantly, ending the purple patch with a series of emphatic forehands and saving six break points to grit out a hold in the third game of the decider. But a key element in Jabeur's win was to simply not let any scoreboard setbacks turn into meaningful momentum shifts. She was able to maintain a dizzying level to capture the double break with a forehand winner two games later anyway.

On her second match point, the pair played one last high-octane rally before Jabeur sealed another milestone in style, powering an inside-in forehand winner and falling to the ground in celebration.

Swiatek blitzes Begu to surge into second week

Iga Swiatek is accelerating along her grass-court learning curve. The No.7 seed became the first player into the fourth round of Wimbledon, storming past Irina-Camelia Begu in just 55 minutes.

Over the 10 Grand Slams she has played, Swiatek has now reached the second week six times. At both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, she achieved that milestone in her second appearance at the tournament; she has never lost in the Roland Garros first week.

The Pole was near-untouchable against Begu, striking 11 winners to six unforced errors over the course of the match. Begu, frequently unable to withstand Swiatek's sheer weight of shot, tallied 25 unforced errors to nine winners.

Lightning starts in both sets saw Swiatek concede only four points en route to a 5-0 lead in the first, and five as she leapt out to 4-0 in the second. The 20-year-old's forehand was in lethal form, and the accuracy of her lobs frequently denied Begu from defensive positions as well.

The Romanian mustered more resistance at the tail end of each set, finding a hold to avoid the bagel in the first and then stretching Swiatek to a 10-minute fifth game of the second that comprised almost one-sixth of the whole match. But Swiatek eventually captured her third break point of that game and served the victory out to love, to set up a last-16 date with either No.11 seed Garbiñe Muguruza or No.21 seed Ons Jabeur.