(Reuters) – Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur moved into the first WTA 1000 final of her career when she beat Russian qualifier Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-2 6-3 at the Madrid Open on Thursday.
Alexandrova held a 6-1 head-to-head record against eighth seed Jabeur but it was the Tunisian who showed flair and impeccable court coverage to get the better of the qualifier.
“I felt like I was sick of losing against her all the time. So I came here to take my revenge,” Jabeur said in a post-match interview.
“I feel like this tournament is a revenge tournament, every match. I’m very glad with my performance. I know she plays really well, so I tried to really impose my rhythm. I’m very happy with the level I played with today.”
The pair traded breaks in the opening set but Jabeur stepped up her game to break Alexandrova at 3-2, breaking with a lob at the net.
Jabeur let out a scream of elation as the crowd got to their feet and the 27-year-old did not look back, breaking four times in the match to wrap up the contest in 61 minutes.
She will play either American Jessica Pegula or Swiss Jil Teichmann in Saturday’s final.
“I really hope they play for five hours and they become tired,” Jabeur said with a laugh.
“I’m just going to focus on myself, it’s been tough losing a few finals lately. I’m going to do my best and then give it all for this one.”
(This story corrects typo in headline, no changes to text).
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Fallon)
