Staff Reporter.
@USOpen.
Ons Jabeur says the confidence she gained from reaching the Wimbledon final this year has helped her reach the last four at the US Open.
The 28-year-old Tunisian reached the semi-finals in New York for the first time after beating Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4 7-6 (7-4) on Tuesday evening.
Jabeur, the fifth seed, will now face Caroline Garcia of France for a place in the final at Flushing Meadows in New York.
“It was very tough coming here,” she said. “The hard court season wasn’t great for me, but Wimbledon helped a lot, for sure.
“Knowing I can make finals of Grand Slams really helped my game.
“I think the fact I broke that barrier of being in the quarter-finals did help with my confidence. I believe more in myself.”
Jabeur had gone into the Wimbledon final ranked and seeded ahead of her Kazakh opponent Elena Rybakina.
However, while looking to become the first African or Arab woman to win a Grand Slam in the Open era, she lost in three sets.
“It’s true that I lost the final but I know that I can win a Grand Slam,” added Jabeur.
“I had to be patient and kept working hard, and here I am in the semi-finals at the US Open.”
At times in the second set against Australian Tomljanovic, Jabeur cut a frustrated figure, and she was jeered by the crowd when she twice threw her racquet to the ground.
In her on-court interview after victory, she joked she may be “fired as the Minister of Happiness” – her nickname in her home country given her more regular smiling disposition.
“I’m very happy that I could adapt very fast on the hard court,” she added.
“The most important thing for me is really proving to myself that I can play on any surface and that’s very, very important for me and for my confidence.”
Meanwhile a “devastated” Nick Kyrgios is out of the US Open after eventually being out-battled by Russia’s Karen Khachanov in a tense quarter-final in New York.
The 27-year-old Australian, who needed treatment on his left thigh after the first set, lost 7-5 4-6 7-5 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 to 27th seed Khachanov.
Khachanov, 26, plays Norwegian fifth seed Casper Ruud, who beat 13th seed Matteo Berrettini 6-1 6-4 7-6 (7-4).
Kyrgios added: “I feel like these four tournaments are the only ones that ever are going to matter. It’s just like you’ve got to start it all again. I have to wait until the Australian Open.