Ons Jabeur of Tunisia moved into her first quarterfinal of the year with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Great Britain's Emma Raducanu at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open on Wednesday night.

In their first meeting on the Hologic WTA Tour, No.2 seed Jabeur needed 1 hour and 18 minutes to ease past 2021 US Open champion Raducanu in a marquee second-round showdown.

"My coach should be happy because I followed the tactics really well," three-time Grand Slam finalist Jabeur said afterwards. "I’m glad that I could see my tennis improving and getting there, so hopefully I’ll continue playing like this, and play even better."

Haddad Maia next up: Jabeur will now take on No.6 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil in the quarterfinals. Haddad Maia entered the elite eight by winning the longest match of the year, a 3-hour and 42-minute epic against Magda Linette.

Jabeur holds a 2-1 head-to-head lead over Haddad Maia, but the Brazilian won their most recent meeting in the 2023 Roland Garros quarterfinals.

"[Haddad Maia is] an unbelievable player, I know she’s enjoying playing here so much," Jabeur said. "It’s going to be a tough match, but I will try my best, and hopefully I’m going to be ready for this one."

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Jabeur jumpstarts season: Arab superstar Jabeur is making her return to the Middle East swing after missing every event in the region last year due to a knee injury.

In fact, Wednesday marked her Abu Dhabi tournament debut in singles, in front of excited crowds. Jabeur had already played a doubles match alongside Naomi Osaka on Tuesday night, losing to Magda Linette and Bernarda Pera.

Hot shot: Jabeur's crosscourt winner in Abu Dhabi doubles match with Osaka

"When I see those fans, it’s unbelievable," Jabeur said. "It’s fun to play for me, I think I play really well, and hopefully we’ll see more and more crowds on Friday."

Former World No.2 Jabeur collected just her second match-win of 2024 by besting Raducanu on Stadium Court. Jabeur's only previous tour-level event this year was the Australian Open, where she beat qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva before losing 6-0, 6-2 to the swiftly rising 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva.

Raducanu's return continues: Raducanu, who missed the last eight months of 2023 after injuries and surgeries, has played three events so far in her 2024 comeback. The former World No.10 has won one match and lost one match at each of those tournaments.

Raducanu is still seeking the first Top 10 win of her career. With her loss to World No.6 Jabeur, the Brit falls to 0-5 against players ranked inside the Top 10 at the time of their meeting.

Match moments: Jabeur used ferocious forehands, peppered with her signature drop shots, to take command against Raducanu. The Tunisian rolled to an early 5-1 lead, and she held two set points at 5-2 and another pair of set points at 5-3.

But Raducanu found sterling groundstrokes of her own to hold firm, and the Brit reeled off three games in a row to edge closer in the opener. However, Jabeur put the hammer down at 5-4, blasting to a love hold and grabbing the one-set lead.

In the second set, Jabeur needed four break points before grinding out a 2-1 lead. After that, though, the No.2 seed raced to victory without the loss of any more games. Jabeur finished the match with 35 winners to Raducanu’s nine.