No.8 seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia won a two-day tussle to reach the second round of the ecotrans Ladies Open in Berlin, Germany, holding off Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu 6-4, 7-6(4) in their first meeting.
Berlin: Draws | Schedule | Scores
Jabeur, the 2022 Berlin champion, prevailed in 1 hour and 33 minutes of play -- though in truth it took much longer for the World No.10 to advance, since the match was suspended overnight due to rainy weather on Tuesday.
Nevertheless, Jabeur eventually made it through her opener at the WTA 500 event and improves to 3-1 on grass so far this year. Two-time Wimbledon finalist Jabeur reached the Nottingham quarterfinals last week.
Even on the first day of this match, Jabeur was involved in a tricky showdown with 40th-ranked Wang. Jabeur led by a double-break at 4-1 in the first set before the qualifier stormed all the way back to 4-4.
However, Jabeur used a sterling backhand service return to regain her break at 5-4, then served out the first set at love before rain took over during the changeover between sets.
Upon resumption of play on Wednesday, Jabeur and Wang got through another five games before rain once again caused a delay. The pair stayed close throughout the second set before Jabeur ran off the last three points of the tiebreak to wrap up proceedings in straight sets.
Each player had seven break points in the match, but Jabeur converted five while Wang converted four, giving the former champion the slight edge.
Jabeur will now take on Czech 19-year-old Linda Noskova in the second round. World No.28 Noskova booked her spot by ousting homeland hope and three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber in the first round on Tuesday.
Jabeur and Noskova have split their two previous clashes. In their first meeting, Noskova shocked Jabeur in the Adelaide semifinals in early 2023, which was the teen's first career Top 5 win. Jabeur exacted revenge with a second-round win at the 2023 US Open.
