Ons Jabeur made light work of her US Open semi-final opponent, Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia. The 5th seed- one of the pre-tournament favourites in the women’s draw- dispatched Garcia 6-1, 6-3 in just over an hour. The Tunisian commanded proceedings in both sets, serving 8 aces, smashing 21 winners to her opponent’s 12 and winning 83% of her first serve points. Standing in her way is top-seed Iga Swiatek in the finals. 

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The Wimbledon runner-up aims to become the first Arab and African woman to secure a Grand Slam. She came agonisingly close at SW19, losing to Russian-Kazakh Elena Rybakina in a see-saw contest. Her US Open journey began with a straightforward 7-5, 6-2 win against unseeded American Madison Brengle. Jabeur repeated the scoreline against another American, Elizabeth Mandlik, in the second round. It led her to another American opponent, Shelby Rogers- completing a hat trick of ‘Star Spangled’ face-offs. Rogers proved a tough nut, forcing the Tunisian to stretch every sinew over 2 hours and 17 minutes. She won the tie 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, heaving heavy sighs of relief after.    

Feeling the after-effects of her epic third-round tie, she struggled to gain a foothold against 18th seed Veronika Kudermetova in the fourth round. Kept on her toes by the Russian throughout the first set, Jabeur managed to find an extra gear in the tiebreak. The second set was tight too, but she managed to retain her composure, eventually winning 7-6 (1), 6-4 in an hour and 33 minutes.  

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In the quarters, she drew Serena Williams slayer Ajla Tomljanovic. While the records suggest a straight-set win, she had to battle for every point against the Australian. It finished 6-4, 7-6 (4). Compared to the previous rounds, the semis proved a much easier affair. But with history in sight, she has the unenviable task of downing the imperious Pole and world no. 1, Swiatek.