The US Open has been a rollercoaster of a ride for Ons Jabeur. She had to battle a mysterious stomach bug in the opening round, where she managed to finish off a close match. Following the difficult first-round victory, Jabeur has made yet another second-week appearance at the Slam with her latest win. However, the World No. 5 had to apply a different tactic to pull through her third-round clash.

Jabeur locked horns with Marie Bouzkova in the third round. She was trailing for the better part of the match after losing the first set. However, adopting a nasty tactic in the second half allowed the Tunisian to edge past her opponent.

Ons Jabeur confesses to resorting to nasty tactics

Similar to Jabeur’s mystery sickness, Bouzkova was ailing an injury herself. She took a medical timeout in the middle of the second set while she was leading. The timing was very odd, but it clearly showed that the Czech was struggling with her physical presence on the court. But Jabeur used this opportunity to her advantage and pulled off a comeback victory.

After winning the match, the Tunisian player revealed how she used Bouzkova’s injury to further her own game. She confessed to the ugliness of the tactic in her on-court interview. Jabeur said, “I was trying to make her move as much as possible. I know that’s not cool, but I wanted to win the match. At some point I was wondering if she was really injured because she was running a lot“.

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Jabeur admitted that she believed that the tactics weren’t pleasant. But however unpleasant they might have been, they were not outside the rulebook of tennis. As an athlete, she needs to capitalize on her best possible chances of winning, especially when she herself hasn’t been in the best of health.

Jabeur’s own share of injuries

Following her Wimbledon final run, Jabeur could only participate in one tournament during the six-week US Open preparation period. She was forced to withdraw from the Canadian Open due to injuries and only managed to show up for the Cincinnati Open. Despite showing full fitness prior to the US Open, the humidity at Flushing Meadows ruined her momentum in the opening round of the tournament. The Tunisian continues to battle against her body while delivering consistent results in a rather topsy-turvy 2023 season.

Jabeur now takes on Qinwen Zheng for a place in the last eight of the US Open. Do you think that the Tunisian will have enough in her tank for the next round? Let us know in the comments.

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