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Jabeur claims she is 'not ready' to become a grand slam champion after Wimbledon final defeat
Written by Sports Desk. Posted in Wimbledon. | 09 July 2022 | 838 Views
Tags: Tennis, Elena Rybakina, Grand Slams, Ons Jabeur

Ons Jabeur said she was simply "not ready" to win a grand slam after losing in three sets to Elena Rybakina in the Wimbledon final.

The Tunisian world number two won the first set of Sunday's title match but then faded and slid to a 3-6 6-2 6-2 defeat.

Russian-born Rybakina, who switched nationality to Kazakh four years ago after being offered financial incentives to do so, was able to celebrate a surprise maiden slam title.

Jabeur was disappointed after the loss and told reporters in a news conference: "I couldn't do more, I really tried deep inside everything that I can.

"I did everything since the beginning of the year to really focus on this tournament, I even have the trophy picture on my phone.

"It wasn't meant to be. I cannot force things. I'm not ready for it probably, to be a grand slam champion."

The 27-year-old was optimistic of her chances of eventually making a breakthrough at the highest level, and perhaps a chance will come at the US Open in September.

She said: "I cannot wait to look forward to the next one.

"If I have another final I will learn more from it. I cannot wait to really improve a lot of things in my game.

"I want to [continue to] be a top-five player, I want to win more titles, I want to win a grand slam."