Aniss Jaber becomes the first Arab to reach the Round of 16 in the French Open
Tunisian Aniss Jaber became the first Arab to reach the fourth round in the French Open after defeating eighth seed Arena Spalenka 7-6, 2-6, 6-3 on Saturday.
The 30th seed showed her usual prowess, surpassing Spalenka's strength and her previous best when she reached the third round at Roland Garros in 2017.
Spalenka led 5-1 in the tiebreak in the opening set, but a series of fouls allowed the 26-year-old Tunisian to snatch the set.
Former French Open junior champion Anse slipped in front of some heavy punches from Spalinka to lose the second set in about 20 minutes.
But the Tunisian player, who became the first Arab to reach the quarter-finals in one of the Grand Slam championships at the Australian Open this year, gathered her strength and advanced 3-0 in the deciding set.
Annis also led 4-0, but Belarus's Spalenka raised her level to stay in the match.
Spalenka saved 3 points for losing the match and score 2-5, then got a break point in the next game.
But Annas maintained her cohesion, got a point to settle the match and fired a great shot from a difficult angle, then clinched victory with her first serve.
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