A brilliant drop shot with spin to help turn around a set -- who else but Ons Jabeur? The Tunisian's court craft at the Mutua Madrid Open earned her April's Shot of the Month.
World No.9 Jabeur was looking for a big result in Madrid. In her most recent appearance at the event, Jabeur was crowned the Mutua Madrid Open singles champion in 2022.
But Jabeur's third-round match was against dangerous Leylah Fernandez, the 2021 US Open finalist. Jabeur had needed three sets to get past Fernandez in both of their previous meetings, and Jabeur found herself in an early 3-0 hole in their latest showdown.
No problem: to begin that game, Jabeur cracked open a point by carving a crosscourt backhand dropper inside the sideline. The ball came off the court with just enough backspin that even the sparkling footwork of Fernandez could not contend with it.
Boosted by that shot, Jabeur won seven of the next nine games to eke out the first set 7-5, on her way to another three-set win over Fernandez. Jabeur went on to the Madrid quarterfinals -- the first time she won three straight matches this season.
Jabeur will now head to Rome, where she is the No.8 seed and was the finalist in 2022.
