Melbourne (AFP)
"I am a product 100% from Tunisia!" Ons Jabeur, the first player in the Arab world to reach the quarterfinals of a major tournament, is particularly proud of her training at home and thus demonstrating to her younger compatriots that "it does it".
"I try to inspire the young generations in Tunisia, in the Arab world and more generally in Africa: I did it, it is not impossible. I trained in Tunisia from the age of 3 to 16 or 17 ", recalls the 78th world, 25 years, before this first Grand Slam tournament of the year.
Having reached a certain level, like all professional players, she turned to international coaches with in particular an 8-month internship in 2012 at the Academy of Justine Henin in Belgium ("I loved it because for the first time I was alone and I like to be independent ", she says) and today she has a French coach, Bertrand Perret.
Until this Australian Open, her best result in Major was the 3rd round at Roland-Garros 2017 and at the US Open 2019, the latter having led her to her best ranking, 51st place.
And then suddenly, after an inter-season preparation carried out from November to December in Tunisia and which she judges "incredible" both tennis and physically (under the direction of her Russian-Tunisian husband Karim Kamoun, fencer), here she is in quarters in Melbourne. By having, in passing, retired the 2018 winner and former world no.1 Caroline Wozniacki in the 3rd round.
- "Go further" -
"I don't want to stop there, I really want to continue and get further. I have come a long way and now is not the time to stop," said the 1 player. , 67m (much smaller than most of his opponents) after his 8th victory over Qiang Wang who had beaten Serena Williams herself in the previous round.
Because, "frankly, I know I have the level to reach a quarter, a half or a Grand Slam final ... or even to win it," she says.
Jabeur's talent and wide range of shots, like his laxity and his ability to take stock of a hit, were known. The novelty lies in its ability to "chain big games," says Perret.
The difficulty in coaching her is the multiplicity of choices that her talent allows her to envisage. "We try to find goals and guide our game," he explains.
- "Football fanatic" -
Another, more unexpected problem is that her player is a football fanatic. "If she could replace tennis training with football training, she would be the happiest," he said.
Jabeur, she does not hide having set very ambitious goals in 2020, like reaching the Top 20 then qualifying for the Masters, at the end of the year in Zhuhai.
Her performances have already put her in the spotlight. "If it is a girl, I call it Ons. If it is a boy it will be Jabeur!", Even wrote a pregnant Tunisian surfer.
But the media pressure and the attention it has attracted in her country since recently, far from disturbing her, give her great pleasure. "I receive a lot of messages, but I cannot answer everyone. All the media in Tunisia want a statement from me (...) At the same time, I try not to be too happy because I have to stay focused for my next match, "said the player, fluent in Arabic, French and English.
What about press conferences where more and more journalists flock? "It's normal, she believes. When we win, there are more people and it's completely normal. I like to answer questions. It's nice and thank you all for coming to take my statements ".
© 2020 AFP