Ons Jabeur said her ability to practice patience this season paid off at the Stuttgart Open on Wednesday night when she fought back from the brink to defeat Jelena Ostapenko and reach the quarter-finals.
Jabeur was staring at a straight-sets loss as Ostapenko served for the match, but the Tunisian produced a rousing comeback to win 1-6, 7-5, 6-3. The third seed will face either sixth seed Elena Rybakina or Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia for a place in the semi-finals.
Should Jabeur face Rybakina, it will be the first meeting between the pair since last summer's Wimbledon final, which the Kazakh won from a set down.
Jabeur, who won her first title of the season last week at the Charleston Open following an injury-hit start to the year, had few answers for Ostapenko's power hitting in the first set as the Latvian recovered from getting broken in the first game to win six in a row and claim the opener in 30 minutes.
Jabeur looked to be heading for defeat when Ostapenko broke for a 2-1 lead in the second set and had the chance to serve out the victory at 5-4, but the Tunisian found a way back in to win three straight games to level the match.
The only break in the decider went Jabeur's way at 4-2 and the world No 4 maintained her advantage to ultimately seal the win on her fifth match point and extend her winning run to six matches.
"Definitely patience was one of the keys today, but I think most importantly was accepting that she was doing great and hitting winners," Jabeur, 28, said. "After all, it's her game. For me, I was, like, OK, she cannot play like this the whole match. If she does, then she deserves to win, obviously.
"I just think, especially on the return games, the moment I stayed patient, the better that I played, especially just returning one ball and give it more spin. That's where I think I was getting more and more rhythm."
Indeed, patience has been a virtue for Jabeur this season and, in fact, for much of her career. A French Open junior champion, Jabeur was still ranked outside the top 50 at the start of the 2020 season, but has since surged up the rankings, breaking new ground for Arab and African tennis and establishing herself amongst the elite, the talent the tennis world always knew she had finally being realised.
After reaching two Grand Slam finals last year, hopes were high for Jabeur at the start of 2023 but a back injury put paid to her Australian Open chances and resulted in the Tunisian missing the Middle East swing. She returned for the Indian Wells and Miami Open 'sunshine double', even if she admitted those tournaments perhaps came too soon in her recovery.
However, Jabeur captured her first title since last summer in Charleston last week to offer evidence that she is getting closer to her best. Crucially, that triumph has also provided a major boost in confidence ahead of the French Open.
"Sometimes I feel like it's meant to be that I didn't start the year great, the most important thing is I take care of my health, and everything happens for a reason, and whatever is meant to be to happen this year is going to happen as long as I give 100 per cent and I follow whatever I need to follow," Jabeur said.
"On the other side, it's like, 'Oh, the other girls are playing really well. Am I gonna come back to the same level or not?' But I took the decision to play Indian Wells and Miami just to show that I'm back here and I'm still alive.
"Charleston was honestly an unexpected title. For me, I was taking it one step at a time. I was trying to find more motivation and just finding my rhythm on the court.
"I was very, very patient, even though sometimes it did not go my way. I know during practices I'm playing really well with other players, and now just will continue and do that. The key was for me to be patient and wait for my game to come back."
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Company Profile
Name: JustClean
Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries
Launch year: 2016
Number of employees: 130
Sector: online laundry service
Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding
The biog:
Languages: Arabic, Farsi, Hindi, basic Russian
Favourite food: Pizza
Best food on the road: rice
Favourite colour: silver
Favourite bike: Gold Wing, Honda
Favourite biking destination: Canada
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Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
25-MAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Francis Uzoho, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Daniel Akpeyi
Defenders: Olaoluwa Aina, Abdullahi Shehu, Chidozie Awaziem, William Ekong, Leon Balogun, Kenneth Omeruo, Jamilu Collins, Semi Ajayi
Midfielders: John Obi Mikel, Wilfred Ndidi, Oghenekaro Etebo, John Ogu
Forwards: Ahmed Musa, Victor Osimhen, Moses Simon, Henry Onyekuru, Odion Ighalo, Alexander Iwobi, Samuel Kalu, Paul Onuachu, Kelechi Iheanacho, Samuel Chukwueze
On Standby: Theophilus Afelokhai, Bryan Idowu, Ikouwem Utin, Mikel Agu, Junior Ajayi, Valentine Ozornwafor
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The years Ramadan fell in May
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
The biog
Alwyn Stephen says much of his success is a result of taking an educated chance on business decisions.
His advice to anyone starting out in business is to have no fear as life is about taking on challenges.
“If you have the ambition and dream of something, follow that dream, be positive, determined and set goals.
"Nothing and no-one can stop you from succeeding with the right work application, and a little bit of luck along the way.”
Mr Stephen sells his luxury fragrances at selected perfumeries around the UAE, including the House of Niche Boutique in Al Seef.
He relaxes by spending time with his family at home, and enjoying his wife’s India cooking.
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Profile box
Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
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Read more about the coronavirus
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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How Sputnik V works
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
