Skip to main content

'Warrior' Jabeur Into As Brave Bouzkova Falls Short In US Open 3rd Round

By

Ons Jabeur kept her dream of a first Grand Slam alive at the US Open on Saturday, reaching the last 16 after finally overcoming injured opponent Marie Bouzkova in three sets. Tunisian fifth seed Jabeur, whose own US Open campaign has been disrupted by a flu virus, completed a 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 victory to subdue Bouzkova in 2hr 56min. A contest of high drama on the Arthur Ashe Stadium saw Bouzkova play virtually half of the match on one leg after suffering a thigh injury midway through the second set.

The 25-year-old Czech 31st seed left the court for a lengthy medical timeout after clutching her thigh in pain.

She appeared to be close to tears when she returned, but somehow managed to battle bravely on despite severely limited mobility.

Bouzkova was often seen grimacing and wincing in pain whenever she needed to push off her injured leg, but remarkably continued to complete the match.

At one point she consulted her coaching staff in the stands and said simply: "I have to."

Advertisement

"Man it was a very tough match," Jabeur said afterwards. "We both played really well. She didn't want to stop. She's a great player.

"This is a tough sport. You always don't want to give up. I really respect her for that. I think we both had a great battle tonight, and hopefully I'll continue getting this 'warrior' symbol with me during this great tournament."

Jabeur admitted she had been incredulous at times as Bouzkova soldiered on despite her injury.

"When I saw her struggling with her leg I tried to make her move as much as I can," Jabeur said. "I know that's not nice but I was trying to win the match.

Advertisement

"At certain times I was like 'Is she really injured?' I wasn't sure."

Jabeur, who also needed three sets in round two after a difficult opening match earlier this week, once again found herself in trouble early on against Bouzkova.

But the injury changed the complexion of the match, even though the ailing Bouzkova took her to a tie-break in the second set.

Jabeur grabbed an early break in the final set, and then served for the match in the ninth game.

There was another twist as Bouzkova saved two match points after trailing 15-40, but Jabeur finally clinched victory on her third match point.

Jabeur, who will now face China's Zheng Qinwen in the last 16 on Monday, said her punishing training regimen in Tunisia had helped prepare her for the demands of the tournament.

"It was super hot in Tunisia, super humid," Jabeur said. "Honestly, I was fighting to just finish the practice. It would have been much easier to stop the practice, but we didn't.

"I was really fighting on those practices the same as during those matches."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Topics mentioned in this article

Adblock test (Why?)



from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/fNuOBTK https://ift.tt/uwt5HSF
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

North Korea Says It Tested New Strategic Cruise Missile

By
North Korea test-fired a new generation of strategic cruise missile on Wednesday. (Representational) Seoul: North Korea fired several cruise missiles towards the Yellow Sea on Wednesday, Seoul's military said, the latest in a series of tension-raising moves by the nuclear-armed state. Hours later, North Korea appeared to confirm the firing, saying it had carried out its first test of a new generation of strategic cruise missiles it is developing, the Pulhwasal-3-31. Pyongyang has accelerated weapons testing in the new year, including tests of what it called an "underwater nuclear weapon system" and a solid-fuelled hypersonic ballistic missile. "Our military detected several cruise missiles launched by North Korea towards the Yellow Sea at around 7:00 am today," the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. Unlike their ballistic counterparts, the testing of cruise missiles is not banned under current UN sanctions against Pyongyang. Cruise...
Post a Comment
Read more

18-Year-Old Killed By Friends Over Mobile Game Password In Bengal: Cops

By
According to cops, accused "friends" attempted to burn the victim after killing him. (Representational) Kolkata: An argument over sharing the password of an online mobile game allegedly led to the murder of a teenage boy by four of his friends in West Bengal's Murshidabad district, a senior police officer said. The body of 18-year-old Papai Das, who had been missing since January 8, was discovered near Nishindra Ghat of the feeder canal in Farakka on Monday, police said. Papai, a class 10 student, was reportedly killed by his four "close" friends after a disagreement over sharing the password for a mobile online game. The accused individuals have been arrested, police added. "These five individuals used to play online games at one of the quarters of the Farakka Barrage. The victim went out on the evening of January 8 and never returned. On January 9, the family lodged a police complaint. "Based on preliminary investigations, we discovered that...
Post a Comment
Read more

"Jaiswal Has Run Ahead Of Gill": Ex-India Star's Massive T20 WC Verdict

By
Former India opener Aakash Chopra has suggested that Yashasvi Jaiswal is slightly ahead of Shubman Gill in the pecking order as captain Rohit Sharma's partner at the top in T20Is. Since making his debut last year, Jaiswal has been in stunning form in the shortest format of the game. Gill's form, on the other hand, has dipped since the ODI World Cup last year in India. With the T20 World Cup scheduled to be held later this year, Chopra feels Jaiswal will open the innings with Rohit during the tournament. "It's clear that Yashasvi Jaiswal has run ahead of Shubman Gill. Yashasvi is ahead in the two-horse race, Gill is lagging slightly behind. Gill was played in the first match, dropped in the second, and wasn't played in the third as well," Chopra said on his YouTube channel. Jaiswal helped India beat Afghanistan in the second T20I earlier this week, scoring a quickfire fifty. Considering his recent form across formats, Chopra emphasised that Jaiswal has ...
Post a Comment
Read more