Ons Jabeur

Swiatek, who will be aiming to regain the French Open title she won in 2020 when she heads to Roland Garros later this month, has won 26 matches on the bounce after a 7-6 (7-2) 6-0 triumph over Andreescu, the 2019 US Open champion.

The 20-year-old Pole has now won all nine of her matches since she became world number one following Ash Barty's retirement in March. 

That makes her part of an exclusive club, with only Justine Henin (in 2004) and Victoria Azarenka (in 2012) having achieved that feat in the 21st century.

Swiatek's winning streak also matches Azarenka's 2012 sequence as the fifth-longest this century. Henin and the two Williams sisters are the only players to have won more consecutive matches since the start of 2000.

"Being in that kind of group is like a dream come true for me," said Swiatek, who has won 38 of her past 39 sets since her fourth-round match at the Indian Wells Open.

"I wouldn't think of that when I was younger. I'm pretty happy that I could do that because consistency was the thing I really wanted to work on last year. This year I feel like it clicked."

The only player to have beaten Swiatek in a tour-level quarter-final to date is Maria Sakkari, at Roland Garros last year, but the Greek saw victory slip from her grasp against Ons Jabeur.

Sakkari led 6-1 5-2 against the Tunisian, yet Jabeur rallied remarkably to claim a first career win against a top-five opponent on clay, prevailing 1-6 7-5 6-1.

After winning the Madrid Open last week, Jabeur has now won 10 straight matches, while she has claimed 16 victories on clay in 2022, leading the way on the WTA Tour.

While Jabeur will face world number 23 Daria Kasatkina, whose opponent Jil Teichmann retired when 6-4 3-2 down, Swiatek will go up against third seed Aryna Sabalenka.

Amanda Anisimova had not lost to Sabalenka in four previous meetings over the past three years, but her luck ran out as she went down 4-6 6-3 6-2.

In a match lasting almost three hours, Noskova triumphed 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (8-6) to continue a dream run in Australia.

Noskova has already beaten third seed Daria Kasatkina in Adelaide and, on only her sixth appearance in a WTA main draw, has won five straight matches.

Further progress will be no easy feat, with top seed Jabeur – a losing finalist at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2022 – grinding out a 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 win over Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk.

On the other side of the draw, second seed Aryna Sabalenka held off a resurgent Marketa Vondrousova to win 6-3 7-5. The Belarusian had led 4-1 in the second set before losing four of the next five games and failing on match point prior to finally seeing it out.

Irina-Camelia Begu defeated fourth seed Veronika Kudermetova 7-5 6-4 to set up a last-four clash with Sabalenka.

At the ASB Classic in Auckland, top seed Coco Gauff outclassed Zhu Lin 6-3 6-2, winning 90 per cent of first-serve points, firing down eight aces, and not giving up a single break point.

Seventh seed Danka Kovinic also won 6-3 6-2 against Viktoria Kuzmova to set up a semi-final clash with Gauff, while world number 95 Ysaline Bonaventure ousted third seed Leylah Fernandez 6-4 6-2 to reach a first Tour-level semi-final where Rebeka Masarova awaits.

The Tunisian sixth seed, last year’s runner-up, came from a set down to beat Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5) 6-4 6-3 on Centre Court.

Sabalenka, banned from Wimbledon last year over the role of Belarus in the war in Ukraine, was a point from going a set and 5-3 up.

But Jabeur’s rousing comeback spared Wimbledon chiefs the uncomfortable situation of the Princess of Wales handing a trophy to, and shaking hands with, a player from Russia’s allied nation Belarus in the women’s final.

Instead of a politically-charged clash between Sabalenka and Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, Centre Court will host Jabeur against Czech Marketa Vondrousova on Saturday.

Jabeur was devastated after losing to Elena Rybakina in last year’s final, but believes she is a different player 12 months on.

“Maybe the old me would have lost that match today,” she said. “Probably 12 months ago, for sure. Maybe also a little bit before, like six months ago. It’s a different player.

“I’m working on myself like crazy. You have no idea what I’m doing. Every time there is something, I’m very tough with myself, try to improve everything. Very impatient sometimes, which is not good.

“Maybe my injuries slowed me down and teach me to be patient and accept what’s going on.”

A set and a break down, Jabeur came out fighting on the Sabalenka serve and it finally paid off.

“I was like, honestly, I’m not going to give a s***, I’m just going to go in and hit my return,” she added.

“Yeah, it was coming. I was returning much better. She missed some shots that did help me stay in the game. I was fighting every point. We just wait for a little bit of chance sometime to get the game, and that’s what happened.”

Sabalenka has reached four consecutive semi-finals but only won one of them, when she took the Australian Open title earlier this year.

“I didn’t play my best tennis today. It was just, like, a combo of everything. A little bit of nerves, a little bit of luck for her at some points,” she said.

“I mean, she just played really well. She played unbelievable tennis. In those key moments, she got a little bit more lucky, and I didn’t play the way I was supposed to play.”

Victory would have elevated Sabalenka above Iga Swiatek to become world number one.

“I wouldn’t say that I was thinking about that. I mean, for me it’s more about how you finish the year than during the year you’re first, second, you just go back and forth,” she added.

“For me it’s more about the finish to the year. I’ll keep pushing myself and do everything I can to finish this year as world number one.”

Tunisian Jabeur went down 6-2 7-6 (7-5) to world number one Iga Swiatek in Saturday's thrilling final at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The 28-year-old was the first African female player to reach the singles final at the US Open in the Open Era, having earlier this year become the first such player to reach the showpiece match of a grand slam in the Open Era.

Jabeur lost 3-6 6-2 6-2 to Elena Rybakina at Wimbledon, though despite not winning a set against Swiatek, gave a better account of herself this time around.

It has been some rise for Jabeur, who had previously never reached a semi-final in 20 previous major appearances. She will be the world number two when the new WTA rankings are confirmed on Monday.

An African player has not won a grand slam singles title since 1981, when Johan Kriek triumphed at the Australian Open. He retained his title a year later, yet was competing for the United States.

Indeed, a player from the continent, male or female, has not enjoyed success at any major since Cara Black won in the mixed doubles at Wimbledon in 2010, but Jabeur is hoping that will soon change.

"I want to thank the crowd for cheering me on, I really tried, she deserved to win today – I don't like her very much right now, but it's okay," Jabeur smiled as she hailed Swiatek's performance in her on-court interview.

"An amazing two weeks to be honest, making up for my final at Wimbledon. I'm going to keep working hard and we'll get that title sometime soon."

Asked how proud she was of her history making season, Jabeur replied: "It really means a lot and I try to push myself to do more. Getting the major is one of the goals.

"Hopefully I can inspire more and more generations, that's the goal and I get inspired by so many champions. Thank you also to my team, always pushing me.

"We want more and more kids coming here hopefully, I just really hope I can inspire more. This is just the beginning."

Jabeur is the first player to reach the final at both Wimbledon and the US Open in the same season since the great Serena Williams did so in 2019, and only the seventh player overall since the turn of the century.

After struggling to find rhythm in the first set, the fifth seed hit back in the second, coming from 4-2 down to restore parity and subsequently save the first of Swiatek's championship points en route to forcing a tie-break.

Jabeur found herself serving for the set at 5-4 up, yet a wonderful Swiatek forehand and a sloppy shot into the net handed her opponent a second bite at the cherry.

The Pole took it thanks to an overhit Jabeur forehand, meaning the Tunisian has now lost seven of her 10 Tour-level finals, and all three of the showpiece matches she has played in on hard courts.

The 18-year-old American fan favourite won 7-5 7-5 on Sunday, sealing her place in the last eight.

Gauff's victory makes her the youngest player to have reached the quarters at Flushing Meadows since Melanie Oudin in 2009.

Oudin, another American, was 17 at the time, and lost her last-eight tie to eventual runner-up Caroline Wozniacki.

Caroline Garcia is next up for Gauff, who will face either Ons Jabeur or Ajla Tomljanovic should she overcome the US Open quarter-final debutant.

Australia's Tomljanovic followed up her defeat of Serena Williams with a 7-6 (10-8) 6-1 win over Liudmila Samsonova, snapping the Russian's 13-match winning streak and reaching her second career grand slam quarter-final in the process.

World number five Jabeur, meanwhile, made history by becoming the first North African woman to make the US Open quarter-finals in the Open Era.

She is the third woman from the African continent to do so, with South Africans Maryna Godwin (1968) and Amanda Coetzer (1994, 1996 and 1998) having previously achieved the feat. Jabeur defeated Veronika Kudermetova 7-6 (7-1) 6-4.

Poland's Swiatek, who has also won the French Open in 2020 and 2022, will play Ons Jabeur in the decider after the Tunisian won her semi-final against the in-form Caroline Garcia in straight sets earlier on.

It continues a remarkable season for the 21-year-old Swiatek, having also reached the semi-final at the Australian Open, before rattling off a 37-match winning streak that saw her claim six titles in a row and put a massive gap on the field as the world number one.

Belarus' Sabalenka was impressive in the opening set, attacking Swiatek's second serves to generate plenty of break points. She won 10-of-12 opportunities against Swiatek's second serve in the first frame, creating six break point chances and taking three.

Things flipped in the second set, and it was all about Swiatek making the adjustments, increasing her first serve accuracy from 64 per cent in the opener to 94 per cent in the second. 

She won 14-of-17 points in those situations in the second frame, and converted all three of her break point opportunities as Sabalenka got sloppy, committing 15 unforced errors with only six winners.

Sabalenka threatened to run away with things late – twice managing to go up a break in the third set – but Swiatek showed composure beyond her years as she continued to fight back.

From 4-2 down in the decider, Swiatek rattled off the next four games in a row, going up 40-0 against Sabalenka's serve in the final game and finishing things off with her second match point.

Data Slam: Swiatek continues historic season

From her past 50 matches, Swiatek has a record of 46-4, and coming into this tournament she had 8605 ranking points – with second-placed Anett Kontaveit down at 4360.

She is also the first number one seed to reach the US Open final since Serena Williams did it back in 2014, snapping the equal-longest drought at any grand slam in the Open Era.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Swiatek – 2/3

Sabalenka – 4/7

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Swiatek – 24/31

Sabalenka – 22/44

BREAK POINTS WON

Swiatek – 7/10

Sabalenka – 5/10

Jabeur, the world number five, became the first woman from Africa to make the last four at Flushing Meadows after a powerful display in the quarter-finals accounted for an opponent who has belatedly started to pose problems at grand slams.

Continuing a strong season of her own, in which she played a first major final at Wimbledon, Jabeur broke twice in the opening set as Tomljanovic failed to fully capitalise on her wayward serving, instead getting in her own way with four double-faults to no aces.

It meant the Tunisian threatened to run away with the match when she secured another break in the first game of the second set, but Tomljanovic fought back in what developed into a back-and-forth struggle, with six breaks of serve split evenly through the first nine games.

Although that theme initially continued in the tie-break, with the first four points all going against the serve, Jabeur finally found some big serves when it mattered most to finish the job.

A semi-final against either Coco Gauff or Caroline Garcia now lies before Jabeur, who had not previously gone beyond the third round in New York.

Data Slam: Jabeur powers through

Jabeur lacked accuracy with her serve – landing 40 per cent of her first serves across the match – but was dominant when she was able to keep it fair, converting nine of her 11 accurate first serves in the opener to illustrate the significant power gap between the two women.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Jabeur – 4/2
Tomljanovic – 1/9

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Jabeur – 29/30
Tomljanovic – 12/24

BREAK POINTS WON

Jabeur – 5/6
Tomljanovic – 4/6

Jabeur, the fifth seed at Flushing Meadows, had previously fallen short of making the second week in the season's final grand slam, having reached the third round in three successive years between 2019 and 2021.

But the Tunisian world number five ended that wait with a 4-6 6-4 6-3 defeat of American Rogers.

Jabeur reached the final at Wimbledon this year, her first appearance in a major showpiece match, but lost to Elena Rybakina.

She has made it to the fourth round of the grand slams six times, having managed quarter-final runs at Wimbledon (2021) and the Australian Open (2020).

Another US Open fourth-round debutant awaits Jabeur in the form of Veronika Kudermetova, who despatched Dalma Galfi 6-2 6-0. 

Kudermetova's victory took just 46 minutes, making it the shortest match of the tournament.

Jabeur defeated Caroline Garcia in Thursday's semi-final, needing only 67 minutes to storm through 6-1 6-3 to reach her second consecutive grand slam decider.

Her loss to Elena Rybakina in July's Wimbledon final was her first time making it to the final match of a grand slam, but after winning the first set in that match, Jabeur fell apart, losing the next two sets 6-2 6-2.

Speaking to the media after earning another chance at a major title, the 28-year-old said she is more focused this time around after being almost starstruck at Wimbledon.

"It feels more real [this time], to be honest with you," she said. "At Wimbledon I was kind of just living the dream, and I couldn't believe it. 

"Even just after the match [today], I was just going to do my thing, not realising it was an amazing achievement already… I hope I'm getting used to it.

"I'm just happy about the fact that I backed up the results in Wimbledon and people are not really surprised I'm in the finals… now maybe I'll know what to do in the final."

Touching on what lessons she learned from that experience, she said she feels she will not be overwhelmed if she is faced with the prospect of being one set away from a grand slam.

"From Wimbledon, just, you know, a lot of emotions," she said. "Just going to that final was really tough for me, especially the second set. I think I handled things very well coming to the court and playing the first set.

"But then I feel like this final, I'm going full in, I'm going for everything. Definitely also learning from Rome's final [lost to Iga Swiatek], Madrid [defeated Jessica Pegula] and other ones.

"I feel very positive about this one. You know, the most important thing is not to regret, because I'm going to give it all on this one. Even if this one is not going to happen, I'm very sure that another one will come."

When asked if her preparation has changed at all from Wimbledon to now, she said minor tweaks to her mindset are the key.

"Will I do things differently? Probably yes," she said. "Some things maybe in the match, for sure, but I think I'm definitely going to think about [Wimbledon] and think about how I played, and the emotions and my focus more than tactically.

"At certain times I think I played not the right way in the final, so it didn't help me much. But always, it's always nice to stick with the same plan. 

"You know, when you get stressed sometimes, you just don't know how to think. I think that I'm going to use [that experience] very well… I think it's going to be great."

Jabeur, the world number five, was dominant in the opening set, winning 75 per cent of her service points and 61 per cent of her return points, allowing no break point opportunities while taking all three of her own chances to break.

She wrapped up the first set in 24 minutes, and after an even start to the second frame, Jabeur capitalised on her first and only break point chance to grab the decisive lead.

Tunisia's best ever tennis export served things out in style, finishing the match without Garcia ever seeing a break point chance.

It ends a remarkable run for Garcia, who entered the contest on a 13-match winning streak, with 31 wins from her past 35. After dominating Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals, Garcia became the betting favourite to win the tournament.

For Jabeur, it continues a career-best season after reaching her first ever grand slam final at Wimbledon, and her ranking will be bumped up to number two in the world when it next updates.

She will play the winner between Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka in the decider.

Data Slam: Jabeur makes more history for African tennis

Jabeur is the first African, Arab or Tunisian woman to ever reach the US Open final, after also accomplishing that feat at Wimbledon.

Through six matches at this tournament, she has only lost one set – in the third round against American Shelby Rogers.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Jabeur – 21/15

Garcia – 12/23

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Jabeur – 8/2

Garcia – 2/0

BREAK POINTS WON

Jabeur – 4/4

Garcia – 0/0

The world number five secured her spot in the last four in one hour and 41 minutes, winning 6-4 7-6 (7-4), having trailed 5-3 in the second set.

The win was Jabeur's 43rd this season, trailing only world number one Iga Swiatek, and comes after she lost to Elena Rybakina in July's Wimbledon decider, fueling her belief that she can secure a breakthrough grand slam title.

"I believe in myself after Wimbledon," Jabeur said during her an on-court interview. "I know that I have it in me to win a [major] final. And here I am in the semi-finals."

Jabeur had reached the quarterfinals at the 2020 Australian Open and 2021 Wimbledon Championships, with her recent runner-up finish proving a breakthrough.

"I think the fact that I broke that barrier of being in the quarterfinals all the time, that did help with my confidence," she said.

"Knowing that I could make finals in grand slams really helped my game, just trying to build that experience to go into second weeks in grand slams.

"It was very tough coming here, you know, just the hard court season like wasn't that great for me. So I was trying to build more and more confidence on hard courts.

"Wimbledon helped a lot, for sure."

The 28-year-old Tunisian has made history several times, the latest being becoming the first African or Arab woman in the Open Era to reach the US Open semifinals.

On a personal level, she has now also reached the second week in all four major tournaments.

"I’m just trying to do my job here, hopefully I inspire more and more generations from Africa," Jabeur said. "It really means a lot to me."

The American, widely considered one of the greatest sportspeople of all time, suggested she would step away from top-level tennis following the tournament at Flushing Meadows.

Following a 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 loss to Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round, her journey now looks to be over – though the 40-year-old admittted "you never know" when asked about future appearances.

Her likely last dance, however, has prompted an outpouring of glowing tributes from far and wide, with a host of major names paying their respects to an unparalleld career.

15-time major-winning golfer Tiger Woods called her "the greatest on and off the court" while four-time NBA champion LeBron James hailed her as "so dope".

The world number one came from behind to defeat Aryna Sabalenka 3-6 6-1 6-4 in Thursday's semi-final to set up a shot at a third grand slam title.

Swiatek will now face Tunisia's Jabeur, who is yet to win a major and suffered defeat in this year's Wimbledon final.

Asked about the task of taking on the world number five in Saturday's showpiece, Swiatek said: "There are a lot of challenges because she's a really solid player and she's second in the race right now.

"You know, Wimbledon final. She didn't get [ranking] points for that, but it shows how much progress she has made.

"She has a different game style than most of the players. She has a great touch. All these things mixed up... she's just a tough opponent.

"That's why probably our matches are always kind of physical and really tight.

"She's just a tough opponent and fully deserves to be in the final. I think it's going to be a great battle."

The Pole conceded she was still lacking trust in her ability on hard courts, with clay her favoured surface, as evidenced by two French Open titles.

But she is delighted to have overcome that in order to push on to a maiden final at Flushing Meadows.

"I just feel like the work that I did pays off," she said. "I feel like even though I lost in Toronto and Cincinnati pretty early, it gives you a chance to prepare and you have to be ready during that time to actually use that.

"I'm pretty happy that on this tournament I was fresh mentally to actually use the chances. I'm pretty happy that even though maybe I wasn't feeling 100 per cent perfectly from the beginning of the tournament, I was still able to get better and better and to play a really solid game."

From her past 50 matches, Swiatek has a record of 46-4, and coming into this tournament she had 8605 ranking points – with second-placed Anett Kontaveit down at 4360.

She is also the first number one seed to reach the US Open final since Serena Williams did it back in 2014, snapping the equal-longest drought on that front at any grand slam in the Open Era.

Swiatek has perhaps been short of her very best in New York but, despite a second-set wobble, found her level on Saturday to win a third major – the youngest player to do so since Maria Sharapova in 2008. 

Jabeur, the first woman to reach the final of Wimbledon and the US Open in the same season since Serena Williams in 2019, gave her all, forcing the world number one into a real battle in the middle of a tense second set.

It came down to a tie-break, but having won her last nine successive WTA finals in straight sets, Swiatek found the composure to pull through and cement her place at the summit of the game.

Nerves had Jabeur on the back foot from the off, with the Tunisian – the first African female to reach the singles final at Flushing Meadows in the Open Era – dropping serve to love to trail 2-0, with Swiatek swiftly going three to the good.

Jabeur stopped the rot for 3-1 before a display of power off both forehand and backhand gave the world number five two break points, the second of which she took, yet she could not keep the momentum going on her serve, conceding again and, this time, Swiatek did not let up, taking the set when her opponent sent a simple volley long.

Like in the first set, it was 2-0 when Swiatek broke, this time clipping a backhand down the line after latching onto a weak volley, Jabeur unable to assert any control.

A supreme backhand saw Swiatek take the next game, too, though she squandered a break chance when she appeared to be distracted by a shout from the crowd.

The pendulum swung firmly in Jabeur's favour when she made it 4-4, only for the 28-year-old to then pass up three break points.

Having dug deep to get through Jabeur's fightback, Swiatek had championship point at 40-30 up in the 12th game. As the crowd held their breath, the youngster changed racquets.

Perhaps it was forced, perhaps a ploy. Either way, the change backfired, Jabeur rolling off three successive points to force a tie-break. 

Jabeur kicked a ball into the crowd in anger after an overhit forehand gifted Swiatek a 4-2 lead, but a trio of points mounted the pressure back to the other side of the court.

Yet it was pressure that Swiatek was able to handle, seeing out two Jabeur serves to turn the tables back in her favour and, on this occasion, she prevailed - Jabeur hitting long to end her brave fight.

Data Slam: Swiatek's year of dominance 

Jabeur and Swiatek entered Saturday's showpiece with the most wins in 2022 and the latter has now matched former world number one Ash Barty's record of 57 victories in a single season (Set in 2019), a haul the 21-year-old will surely overtake.

The first top-seeded female player to reach the final at the US Open since Williams in 2014, Swiatek has matched the 23-time grand slam champion in another metric, too, becoming the first player to win seven titles in a single season since the American great did so eight years ago.

Swiatek is only the ninth player in the Open Era to win her third grand slam title before turning 22, after Sharapova, Justine Henin, both Williams sisters, Martina Hingis, Monica Seles, Steffi Graf and Chris Evert.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Swiatek – 1/0

Jabeur – 2/4

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Swiatek – 19/30

Jabeur – 14/33

BREAK POINTS WON

Swiatek – 5/12

Jabeur – 3/9

The US Open balls, controversially lighter for the women than the men, might not be up Swiatek's street, but she made an exception for them too.

And if the match-up with Ons Jabeur in the Flushing Meadows final felt almost too close to call – most were forecasting three sets, flip a coin on the winner – well, perhaps Swiatek took exception.

Rising to the occasion of a grand slam final is what exceptional players do, making exceptions in times of need, taking exception to doubters, carrying off titles. If anyone was beginning to doubt Swiatek after her mid-summer dip, this Arthur Ashe Stadium triumph banished the thought she is anything other than exceptional.

At times her play was brilliant, and when her level dropped, as it did in the second set, she was gritty. In the end, she was not as clutch as she might have liked, unable to take a match point at 6-5 on Jabeur's serve and pushed into a tie-break, but a 6-2 7-6 (7-5) victory goes into the record books.

In the end, that's all that counts. Habitual winners find a way, down one path or another.

The second set was a curious confection, both players losing their fluency but fighting hard for every point, tenacity overriding talent at times as the high stakes involved often brought the level down.

Swiatek appeared distracted by a call from the crowd at one stage, that New York bustle again getting in her head.

On the eve of the tournament, Swiatek said of New York: "I wouldn't choose it as a place to live because I'm more of a person that needs a calm place with the proper environment to rest. New York is kind of always alive. That's not for sure my place."

So, Iga, how does New York feel now?

"It's so loud, it's so crazy," she said at Saturday's trophy presentation. "There were so many temptations in the city, so many people I've met who were so inspiring. It's really mind blowing for me and I'm so proud I could handle it mentally."

The 21-year-old has a third grand slam title and a first away from the French Open, where she was champion at the pandemic-delayed slam in October 2020 and again this year.

Swiatek is a Pole on a roll when it comes to the big occasions, having won 20 consecutive sets in finals, all tournaments considered, and remarkably she is the first woman to win two or more slams in a single season since Angelique Kerber in 2016.

These two women will be numbers one and two in the new WTA rankings, and there could be a real rivalry brewing. Or there might just be a slew of these trophies coming Swiatek's way.

She is the first women to win the French Open and the US Open in the same year since Serena Williams in 2013.

If Williams does not play again, as we now expect, then Swiatek will be a very different type of figurehead for the women's game, an introvert who goes about her business quietly, but purposefully.

She becomes just the ninth woman in the Open Era to earn a third singles slam before turning 22, joining an illustrious list also featuring Maria Sharapova, Justine Henin, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Martina Hingis, Monica Seles, Steffi Graf and Chris Evert.

As Jabeur came charging back at Swiatek in the second set, recovering from 3-0 and 4-2 adrift to take it to the tie-break, thoughts turned to what a victory for the Tunisian would have meant.

A tournament that began as the Serena Williams show, a celebration of a player who alongside sister Venus opened the door for so many black players, might have ended with the triumph of an African Arab woman, one whose driving force is to see more players from her continent, and of her ethnicity, make strides in professional tennis.

Jabeur's time will probably come, but this defeat will sting, just as losing to Elena Rybakina in the title match did at Wimbledon two months ago.

"I want to thank the crowd for cheering me on. I really tried, but Iga didn't make it easy for me," Jabeur said. "She deserved to win today. I don't like her very much right now but it's okay."

She vowed to "get that title sometime soon", but with Swiatek around that might be difficult.

Swiatek is the second woman since the slams opened themselves up to professionals in 1968 to win her first six sets in grand slam singles finals. For the record, Lindsay Davenport was the first.

This final came at the end of a tournament that Swiatek entered with low expectations. Defeat to Alize Cornet at Wimbledon halted her 37-match winning run, the longest on the women's tour this century, and it was followed by a string of results that saw Swiatek go no further than the quarter-finals in her next three events.

"Maybe I'm the kind of person who is never going to trust myself," Swiatek said, heading into the final.

She is a different model of champion, perhaps not the kind they are used to or particularly get behind in New York. There is no razzmatazz, no edge: just intense focus.

Swiatek is always doubting, but always looking for ways to improve, and now, when it comes to finals, always getting the job done.

The 24-year-old became the first unseeded player to win the women's singles at Wimbledon with a shock straight sets victory over favourite Ons Jabeur in the final.

Vondrousova had previously reached the French Open final four years ago but had endured a tumultuous period since due to injuries and inconsistent form, while grass was seen as her weakest surface.

Her victory is the latest in a long line of shock major wins in the women's game, with Bianca Andreescu and Emma Raducanu among the others to cause upsets in recent years.

But the lack of a dominant group of players in women's grand slams is not a big concern to Bartoli, who made two Wimbledon finals in her career, winning once.

She has urged the crop of recent major winners, including Vondrousova, to take up the challenge of proving their successes were not flukes.

Bartoli cites the example of 2022 Wimbledon champion Rybakina, who is now ranked three in the world and reached the last eight this year before losing out to Jabeur, as one to follow.

"I don't see it as an issue – there is nothing you can do about it," Bartoli, who won Wimbledon in 2013, said to Stats Perform when asked about the recent trend in grand slams.

"I mean, you just can't say to a player, 'Oh, but why don't you win every single grand slam like Serena Williams?' All those [top-ranked] girls are trying their hardest when they're on the court, sometimes they're losing when they should have won, like Ons losing that final. 

"But it's not like you can go and say to her 'Oh, yeah, but why don't you try harder?' She tried her heart out on the court and tried absolutely everything to win. It just didn't happen. 

"You have new names, some newcomers are coming and winning, it was the same when Raducanu won her first grand slam, it was the same when Andreescu won.

"Now it's Marketa winning her first. It was slightly more of a shocker when Raducanu won because she came from the qualification. That was an even bigger story and then to become this £20million girl that gets all those contracts in the UK. She was into US Open qualifying and then three weeks later she was a mega superstar.

"Was tennis different back then when I was playing? Of course. Then you had 15 or 20 names who were coming back all the time. 

"It was extremely difficult just to get yourself inside the top 20 or into the top 10 because you had Serena and Venus, Kim Clijsters and all the Russians, you just didn't have the space. 

"But I like those news stories. I like those fairytale stories. I just hope that those girls can now stay there. 

"For Marketa [I hope] that she can bring that level constantly so she can be a face in the top 10 and people can come back to Wimbledon next year and say ‘OK, I know her now, she's top five, she has done this, she has this result somewhere’, like Rybakina in some ways. 

"Rybakina won last year but she came back this year and she was top three, so it's not like she was a fluke. 

"So if those breakthrough girls can now say 'I'm still part of the conversation, I'm coming back and I'm top five or top 10' then we are in for a great WTA Tour."

Vondrousova is the sixth unseeded player to win a grand slam title in the last decade, after Jelena Ostapenko, Sloane Stephens, Iga Swiatek, Barbora Krejcikova and Raducanu.

Bartoli feels it will take a while for the magnitude of her win to sink in, particularly when it was so unexpected. Vondrousova had only won four matches on grass before the tournament.

She added: "It's difficult to actually soak it in that quickly – for me, it took several days, even several weeks to be able to really understand what I just achieved, especially when you win for the first time.

"For Novak [Djokovic] or Roger [Federer] or all those players who have won Wimbledon on multiple occasions, then it almost becomes normal for them. Of course there is the happiness of achieving winning another grand slam, but it's not as much as a big deal as when it's your first one or your first Wimbledon in the case of Carlos Alcaraz.

"Especially for Marketa Vondrousova, being unseeded, it was completely unexpected for her to have that sort of run and being the total outsider in the final and coming out, playing great tennis and winning in straight sets as well.

"At the beginning of the tournament, no one would have thought to put her into the top five or top 10 contenders to go and win the title, and it is even more of a surprise after all the injuries she suffered.

"But all credit to her. She had some really tough matches, when you really have to push yourself that much you absolutely deserve to win your first grand slam title." 

Williams teamed up with Jabeur on Tuesday to record a thrilling win over Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo in her first competitive outing since last June, when she was forced to retire from her first-round Wimbledon clash with Aliaksandra Sasnovich through injury.

Having been granted a wildcard entry to the year's third grand slam, which begins next week, Williams is bidding for her first major title since winning 2017's Australian Open.

But speaking after her successful return to the court, Williams admitted her comeback had been far from certain.

"Did I ever doubt I would return? Absolutely, for sure. I would be dishonest if I said it wasn't and now my body feels great," she said.

"I definitely felt good out there and I was talking with Ons in the first set saying 'we're not playing bad' because they were just playing really good in that first set.

"But obviously winning, getting more balls and playing a little bit more made us feel a lot better. It definitely felt reassuring. It has been clicking in practice and now it seems like it is clicking. It is doubles but it still means a lot to both of us to be in it."

Williams and Jabeur will face Shuko Aoyama and Chan Hao-Ching in Eastbourne's doubles quarter-finals after posting an impressive 2-6 6-3 13-11 victory in their first outing.

With Williams now ranked 1,204th in the world and aged 40, speculation has abounded as to whether her SW19 appearance will mark the beginning of a farewell tour for the seven-time Wimbledon champion.

However, Williams is not rushing to make any further decisions about her future in the game.

"You know what, I am literally taking it one day at a time. I really took my time with my hamstring injury so I am not making a ton of decisions after this," she added.

"I did a lot of non-training in the beginning obviously and after I couldn't play New York [2021's US Open] I went cold turkey of not working out.

"It felt good, but I always try to stay semi-fit because you never know when you are going to play Wimbledon.

"I love tennis and I love playing otherwise I wouldn't be here, but I also love what I do off the court."

The British grand slam brought with it plenty of twists and turns, not least in the men's singles final on Sunday, as Carlos Alcaraz overcame Novak Djokovic in a five-set thriller.

A day before Alcaraz sealed his second major title with that 1-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 success, Marketa Vondrousova won her first grand slam with a surprise 6-4 6-4 victory over Ons Jabeur.

Using Opta data, Stats Perform looks back at the best statistics from the last two weeks at the All England Club.

King Carlos

It looked like it might be a bad day at the office for Alcaraz when Djokovic cruised to a 6-1 win in the first set on Centre Court, but the Spaniard came back with a bang.

Alcaraz is an incredible talent that looks set to take up the mantle left by Rafael Nadal, and while Djokovic was at times at his dominant best, it still wasn't enough to down the world number one.

At 20, Alcaraz is the third-youngest player in the Open Era to win the men's singles title at Wimbledon, after Boris Becker and Bjorn Borg.

And he is now the youngest player in the Open Era to win the singles title at both the US Open and Wimbledon.

Nadal was the only previous Spaniard to win the coveted trophy, as Alcaraz became the first player not called Nadal, Djokovic, Roger Federer or Andy Murray to triumph at the All England Club since 2002 - before he was even born.

He became the first player to defeat three top-10 opponents en route to winning the Wimbledon title since Pete Sampras did so in 1994, while after claiming the title at Queen's, Alcaraz is the second-youngest player to win 12+ consecutive grass-court matches (Boris Becker was the youngest to achieve the feat, with 13 straight wins in 1985 between the Queen's Club and Wimbledon).

No Grand Slam for Novak

Djokovic became the second player in the Open Era to reach multiple men's singles grand slam finals in a single year after turning 36, after Ken Rosewall in 1974. He also overtook Chris Evert (34) as the player with the most appearances in major finals, among both men and women (35).

Only Federer, with 46, can match the Serbian's tally of grand slam semi-final appearances in the Open Era, meanwhile.

The 36-year-old also became just the third player in the Open Era, after Federer and Jimmy Connors, to play in 100 men's singles matches at Wimbledon.

Djokovic had not lost a five-set grand slam final since losing to Andy Murray in the 2012 US Open.

Indeed, Djokovic had not lost at Wimbledon since going down to Tomas Berdych in the 2017 quarter-finals and the final was his first loss on Centre Court for 10 years, since Murray beat him in the famous 2013 final.

Vondrousova victorious

Vondrousova is the first unseeded player to win the women's singles title at Wimbledon in the Open Era. It marked only her second career WTA Tour title, following her success at Biel in 2017.

She is the lowest-ranked player to win the singles title in Wimbledon since the WTA Rankings were introduced.

The Czech was playing in her second grand slam final, having previously lost to Ashleigh Barty at the 2019 French Open.

Vondrousova now holds a record of 3-2 head-to-head against Jabeur, with the latter winning their only previous meeting on grass, at Eastbourne in 2021. All the Tunisian's losses Vondrousova have come in 2023.

Vondrousova is the sixth unseeded player to win a grand slam title in the last decade, after Jelena Ostapenko, Sloane Stephens, Iga Swiatek, Barbora Krejcikova and Emma Raducanu.

The 24-year-old is the third Czech woman to win the singles title at Wimbledon, after Jana Novotna (1998) and Petra Kvitova (2011, 2014).

Meanwhile, Jabeur became the first player since Simona Halep to lose each of her first three singles finals at grand slams, while the 28-year-old is the third player in the 21st century to lose successive Wimbledon finals after Venus Williams (2002, 2003) and Serena Williams (2018, 2019).

Czech world number 42 Marketa Vondrousova beat crowd favourite Ons Jabeur to become the first unseeded women’s champion in the competition’s history.

And a day later Carlos Alcaraz became the new King of Centre Court when he dethroned Novak Djokovic in a five-set thriller.

Here, the PA news agency looks back at the 2023 Championships.

Unseeded and undefeated

Vondrousova spent last year’s Wimbledon in a cast and her SW19 experience was just to watch best friend Miriam Kolodziejova in qualifying. She ended the 2023 edition as the first unseeded women’s champion in the event’s history.

The Olympic silver medallist beat four seeds to reach the semi-finals, where she ended the emotional run of Ukrainian wild card Elina Svitolina.

She was the underdog once more in the final against last year’s runner-up Ons Jabeur, but overcame early nerves to win in straight sets and lift the Venus Rosewater Dish.

The future is now

Djokovic had not lost at Wimbledon since 2017 and had not been defeated on Centre Court since Andy Murray beat him in the 2013 final. Enter Alcaraz.

The Spanish world number one overcame a wobbly first set to beat the seven-time champion in five epic sets.

The calendar Grand Slam continues to elude Djokovic, but he will still be heavily backed to win another major title in his career and match Margaret Court’s record of 24.

But Alcaraz’s progress on grass means the odds of equalling Roger Federer’s eight titles in SW19 will have lengthened.

Tweet of the tournamentPicture of the tournamentBrit watch

British interest in the adult singles competitions ended in the first week, with Liam Broady and Katie Boulter both losing in the third round.

Andy Murray’s hopes of a long run were ended by fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round, while Cameron Norrie – who reached the semi-finals a year ago – also exited at the same stage to exciting American Chris Eubanks.

But it was not all doom and gloom for the host nation.

Wolverhampton’s Henry Searle won the boys’ singles final – the first British boy to do so since Stanley Matthews in 1961 – Liverpudlian Neal Skupski was victorious in the men’s doubles title with his Dutch partner Wesley Koolhof and Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid lifted the men’s wheelchair doubles title.

Russia and Belarus return

After being banned from the 2022 edition due to the war in Ukraine, players from Russia and Belarus returned this summer.

Generally, they were well received by the crowds but organisers would likely have breathed a sigh of relief when Aryna Sabalenka and Daniil Medvedev both fell at the semi-final stage, avoiding the possibility of the Princess of Wales presenting the trophy to a Belarusian or Russian player.

The only controversy came when Victoria Azarenka of Belarus was booed off court following her fourth-round defeat by Ukrainian Svitolina.

Azarenka, who put up her hand to acknowledge Svitolina knowing her opponent did not wish to shake hands with a player from the aggressor countries, branded fans “drunk” and unfair.

Quote of the tournamentShot of the tournamentStat of the tournament

Jabeur, last year’s runner-up, earned a shot at redemption by upsetting world number two Aryna Sabalenka after Vondrousova crushed the dreams of Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in the first semi-final.

Elsewhere at the All England Club, Britain’s Neal Skupski secured a place in the final of the men’s doubles.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at how day 11 of the Championships unfolded.

Ons-toppable?

Ons Jabeur was devastated after losing to Elina Rybakina in the 2022 final but believes she is a different player 12 months on.

The sixth seed defeated Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5) 6-4 6-3 to the delight of the Centre Court crowd – and likely to the relief of the All England Club and Buckingham Palace.

Australian Open champion Sabalenka, banned from last year’s tournament due to the war in Ukraine, was a point from going a set and 5-3 up.

But Jabeur’s rousing comeback spared Wimbledon chiefs the uncomfortable prospect of the Princess of Wales handing a trophy to, and shaking hands with, a player from Russia’s allied nation Belarus in the women’s final.

Instead of a politically-charged clash, the gutsy Tunisian will bid to make it second time lucky, with underdog Vondrousova standing in her way.

Tweet of the daySvitolina unable to mount mother of all comebacks

Elina Svitolina’s inspiring run ended as Czech world number 42 Vondrousova reached her maiden Wimbledon final.

Svitolina’s efforts amid war in her homeland of Ukraine and only nine months after giving birth to daughter Skai have been one of the stories of the tournament.

But she was quickly on the backfoot in her quest to reach a first major final and was unable to battle back against 24-year-old Vondrousova, who broke three times in the opening set en route to a 6-3 6-3 success.

Far more at home on clay than grass, Vondrousova is enjoying her first significant grand slam run since she made the final at the French Open in 2019 as a teenager before losing to Ashleigh Barty.

She had beaten Svitolina comfortably in their last meeting in the semi-finals at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and it was the same story on Thursday.

Flying the British flag

Neal Skupski is one win away from a Wimbledon hat-trick after reaching the men’s doubles final with partner Wesley Koolhof.

The Liverpudlian won the mixed doubles in 2021 and 2022 and will have a shot at his first men’s title after a 7-5 6-4 win over Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden on Court One.

One break of serve in each set was enough for top seeds Skupski and Koolhof to get the job done as they booked a Centre Court spot on Saturday.

Shot of the dayQuote of the dayPicture of the dayStat of the day