Ons Jabeur secured her place in the Madrid Open quarter-finals after defeating Belinda Bencic in three sets on Monday.
The Tunisian ran out a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victor over 11th seed Bencic in the Spanish capital and will now take on Simona Halep in the next round.
In the Arantxa Sanchez Stadium, Jabeur joked with the crowd that they should consider supporting her against Halep, who knocked out their home favourite Paula Badosa in the previous round.
“Just a reminder guys, Simona won against Paula and she's Spanish so if she wins you have to cheer for me,” laughed Jabeur after her win over reigning Olympic champion Bencic.
In a match that was interrupted by a sudden rainstorm that flooded the court, Jabeur put on a show in the final game, flaunting her unique touch and pulling off impossible gets on her way to the last eight.
The win came on a special occasion for the 27-year-old as she celebrates Eid with the Muslim world. “It's two parties let's say. Some people were telling me, 'Listen this is Eid, so you have to win today'. So I was trying my best,” said Jabeur, who at No 10 in the world, is the highest-ranked player left in the draw.
“Part of me is very proud of myself for coming today and getting the win. Belinda is such an amazing player and it's very tough to play against her. I'm very happy with the level I showed today, and hopefully this level will continue for the rest of the tournament.”
Former world No 1 Halep recovered from falling 4-1 down in the second set to defeat American teenager Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-4 in 77 minutes.
Madrid has been a happy hunting ground for Halep, who clinched the winner's trophy twice from a tournament record four final appearances in the Spanish capital.
A break in the ninth game was enough for Halep to scoop the opening set in 28 minutes and she wiped away a three-game deficit in the second to reach the quarter-finals without dropping a set.
“I felt like I played the exactly what I had to play. In the second set she changed a little bit,” Halep said in a post-match interview.
“She's been more aggressive and it was not easy to adjust, but in the end I pushed her back and I did what I wanted to do … We played a few times so I knew what to expect.”
On the men's side, Gael Monfils eased past 20-year-old Spanish wild card Carlos Gimeno Valero 6-3, 6-0 to book a second-round meeting with world No 1 Novak Djokovic.
Italian 10th seed Jannik Sinner fought back from a set down and then saved three match points to dispatch American Tommy Paul 6-7, 7-6, 6-3 in a three-hour battle to move into the next round. “It was a very difficult situation. I was up in the first set 5-2 and then I lost it,” said Sinner, who will now face Alex de Minaur.
THE BIO
Ms Davison came to Dubai from Kerala after her marriage in 1996 when she was 21-years-old
Since 2001, Ms Davison has worked at many affordable schools such as Our Own English High School in Sharjah, and The Apple International School and Amled School in Dubai
Favourite Book: The Alchemist
Favourite quote: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail
Favourite place to Travel to: Vienna
Favourite cuisine: Italian food
Favourite Movie : Scent of a Woman
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
The Bio
Favourite Emirati dish: I have so many because it has a lot of herbs and vegetables. Harees (oats with chicken) is one of them
Favourite place to go to: Dubai Mall because it has lots of sports shops.
Her motivation: My performance because I know that whatever I do, if I put the effort in, I’ll get results
During her free time: I like to drink coffee - a latte no sugar and no flavours. I do not like cold drinks
Pet peeve: That with every meal they give you a fries and Pepsi. That is so unhealthy
Advice to anyone who wants to be an ironman: Go for the goal. If you are consistent, you will get there. With the first one, it might not be what they want but they should start and just do it
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
What is a black hole?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
TCL INFO
Teams:
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Rashford 36')
Liverpool 1 (Lallana 84')
Man of the match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
