Aryna Sabalenka knows just what to expect from Ons Jabeur in Thursday’s Wimbledon semi-final after she endured some gruelling pre-tournament practice sessions with the Tunisian.
The Belarusian, who was banned from last year’s tournament, is making up for lost time and booked her second last-four appearance in SW19 with a demolition of Madison Keys, winning Wednesday’s quarter-final 6-2 6-4.
Sabalenka is not surprised to see Jabeur on the other side of the net for the semi-final as she experienced first hand just how well she is playing in the build-up to the tournament.
“Actually we practised here before Wimbledon,” Sabalenka revealed. “I felt like she was going to do well here because she played unbelievable tennis on the practice court.
“I know it’s different in practice than in a match. She was able to bring this level to matches.
“It’s not like I didn’t expect that. Yeah, she’s a great player. We always had tough battles against each other, very close matches. I am really looking forward to this great battle.”
With Iga Swiatek being knocked out on Tuesday she will now have her sights on the Venus Rosewater dish to follow her Australian Open success at the start of the year.
Indeed, her eyes will have lit up when Swiatek was beaten by Elina Svitolina as it means she is now just one win away from ending the Pole’s 66-week reign as world number one.
Asked which she would value more, the Wimbledon title or to sit at the top of the rankings, the 25-year-old was willing to be greedy.
“To be honest, I want both,” she said. “But I’m trying to focus on myself because I know if I start thinking about all this stuff, I’m going to lose my focus on the court, my game.
“So I’m trying to focus on myself right now and make sure that every time I’m on the court I bring my best tennis.
“Then later on we’ll see if I’m ready to become world number one or if I’m ready to play another final.
“I remember myself, I don’t know, 14 or 15 years old going to my practice with the headphones listening to music and dreaming becoming one of the best players in the world, dreaming about lifting this beautiful trophiy.
“That’s something unbelievable. That’s something what really motivates me a lot, that I was able to become one of the best. I’m competing on the high level. So that’s something big for me.
“I’m going to do everything I can to lift this beautiful trophy.”
Zverev ends Tabilo's dream run to reach Italian Open final
Alexander Zverev fought back from the brink to reach the Italian Open final on Friday, overcoming Alejandro Tabilo by a 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 scoreline in the last four.
Zverev was punished for a slow start as Tabilo took the opener within 32 minutes, but the German fought back in a one-hour, 15-minute slog of a second set.
The 2017 Italian Open champion put his foot down from 3-3 in the second-set tie-break, with Tabilo potentially feeling the effects of a fine run that included a last-32 upset of Novak Djokovic.
Zverev upped the intensity in the final set and won a huge 94 per cent of points behind his first serve as his opponent wilted, the third seed reaching the Rome final for a third time.
Data Debrief: Zverev draws level with Becker
Zverev will now face either Nicolas Jarry or Tommy Paul in Sunday's final, which will be his 11th at ATP 1000 Masters level.
That tally pulls him level with Boris Becker for most such finals by a German player since the format's 1990 introduction.
Sabalenka defeats Collins to set up Swiatek rematch
Aryna Sabalenka defeated Danielle Collins 7-5 6-2 to set up yet another meeting with Iga Swiatek at the Italian Open.
Having defeated Collins en route to the final of the Madrid Open, which she lost to Swiatek, Sabalenka repeated the trick with a straight sets win over the American in Thursday's semi-final.
And the Belarusian's reward will be an immediate rematch with Swiatek.
The duo have met 10 times, including in Madrid earlier this month, with Swiatek winning seven times and Sabalenka claiming three victories.
This will be Sabalenka's first appearance in the Italian Open final.
She is the sixth player, along with Simona Halep (2017), Dinara Safina (2009), Serena Williams (2013), Ons Jabeur (2022), and Swiatek (2024) to have reached the final of both Madrid and Rome in the same season.
Data Debrief: Perfect record
Collins is the only player against whom Sabalenka has registered six wins without a loss in WTA events, while only against Maria Sakkari and Elise Mertens does she have more wins in her career in such events (seven each).
The final will mark the fourth meeting on clay between Swiatek and Sabalenka as world number one and two, equalling Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova for the most meetings on the surface as the WTA's top-two ranked players.
Swiatek makes it back-to-back finals with Gauff win
Iga Swiatek is through to the Italian Open final for the third time after seeing off Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday.
There was little to separate the two in the opening 50 minutes as they played to 4-4 before Gauff left an opening with back-to-back double faults, and Swiatek took full advantage.
The world number one broke Gauff’s serve four times, including in the fifth game of the second set to swing the momentum firmly in her favour after one hour 48 minutes on the court.
Swiatek has now reached back-to-back WTA 1000 finals after winning the Madrid Open earlier this month and could face Aryna Sabalenka for the title once more if the Belarusian gets past Danielle Collins in the other semi-final.
Data Debrief: Unstoppable on clay
Swiatek has now won 11 consecutive matches, and registered her 10th victory over Gauff in 11 meetings between the two - she has won all four matches against the American on clay.
Since the format’s introduction in 2009, Swiatek (40 per cent, 12/30) holds the highest percentage of finals reached from WTA-1000 main draws entered. Serena Williams (36.7 per cent, 18/49) is the next best in the format's history.
Since the WTA rankings were first published in 1975, Swiatek has become only the third player to reach multiple Italian Open finals as the WTA's number one, along with Serena Williams (three) and Monica Seles (two). She will be looking for her third Italian Open title on Saturday.
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