|
Jabeur came up short in two major finals in
2022, losing to Elena Rybakina at Wimbledon and Iga Swiatek at
the U.S. Open, but the Tunisian is rediscovering her best form
again this year after minor knee surgery in February.
Victory against holder Bencic was Jabeur's 38th on clay since
the start of the 2020 season - the most by any women's player in
that period - and makes the 28-year-old a strong contender for
the French Open starting next month.
"I'm glad that I'm finding my rhythm and I hope my body will
allow me to play," Jabeur told Tennis Channel, looking ahead to
the European claycourt swing.
"I'm excited to go to Stuttgart, Madrid, Rome. Clay is really
amazing and I love it. I'm working on a lot of things and it's
going my way, so for me: step by step, and I'm going for the
Grand Slam this year."
Jabeur, who missed tournaments in Doha and Dubai earlier this
year and made early exits in Indian Wells and Miami, said
self-belief had helped her rise to the challenge of facing
Olympic champion Bencic.
"If you want to do something, believe in it and only you can
really manifest it," Jabeur added. "I was doing that, imagining
myself holding the trophy.
"I was imagining myself in the photoshoot after, putting the
image that I won that title already, and it happened.
"I'll manifest the big trophy sets, the Wimbledon one and other
Grand Slams that I want to win."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter
Rutherford)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
|
