“It was very hard! How many amortizations I had to do to make her run…”, commented the 29-year-old Tunisian who will face the Chinese Qinwen Zheng (23rd) to try to reach the quarter-finals. Still chasing a Grand Slam title after losing three finals, Jabeur has been sick and physically weak since the start of the tournament.
In three matches at Flushing Meadows, Jabeur will have spent 7:06 on the court, played twice in three sets, played three tie-breaks and a total of 91 games. By comparison, defending champion Iga Swiatek took 3:21 to reach the round of 16, and only played 45 games. Faced with an opponent who nevertheless injured her leg during the second set, she had to show enormous willpower to win, especially since she committed a lot of unforced errors (63 against 31 for Buzkova).
Obviously not on his plate, Jabeur conceded the first set on a double fault. Then, in the second, the Czech injured her leg in a rally and had to be treated off the court when the ends changed at 4-3 for Jabeur. When she returned, she seemed unable to move normally and on the verge of tears.
This handicap should have been prohibitive against an opponent like Jabeur with a magic touch and devilish variations. Except that the Tunisian made so many mistakes that Bouzkova picked up at 5-5 and took the set to the tie-break, won by Jabeur with a furious smash. “It’s always difficult to play against an injured player,” she explained. At the end of the second set, I decided to take the game on my own, to put more intensity and to make her run as much as possible, even if it is not nice to do that to an injured player. .. But she gave everything and I even wondered if she was really hurt.
In the third set, Jabeur immediately took the service of Bouzkova (2-0) but the latter, who regained her mobility, broke in stride and reattached at 2-2. The Tunisian then lined up three consecutive games to lead 5-2 and serve for the match at 5-3. Bouzkova saved two match points but lost on the third by sending a forehand into the net.
