Jabeur had to fight to dismiss the Frenchwoman 7-6 (7/3), 7-5, Tuesday for her entry into the WTA 250 hard court tournament in Ningbo in China.
The two players went blow for blow in a first round which saw each of them achieve the break twice, before Jabeur, seeded N.1 in the Chinese tournament, finally won this arm wrestling match. decisive after 1 hour 05 minutes of play.
Stunned, the 21-year-old from Nice then quickly found herself trailing 2-0 in the second set, after giving in her throw-in. But she held on by quickly managing to break, before confirming.
A fierce battle then began.
While the Tunisian, seeded N.1, served to lead 6-5, Parry even obtained two break points. But Loïc Courteau’s protégé was unable to take advantage of it, then Jabeur made his experience speak by stealing his opponent’s serve and winning in 2 hours 16 minutes.