Ons Jabeur on a tennis court triggers images of an artist at work. A burst of colour, a stroke, a brush, a jab, a dink. Bruising power, delicate touch. And just when you think the 26-year-old is done, she starts again, wielding her stick like a wand.
Jabeur, the first Tunisian to make the Wimbledon quarterfinals, crafted her charge with a 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 victory over the seventh-seeded Iga Swiatek. Jabeur is also the first Arab -- man or woman since Egypt's Ismail El Shafei in 1974 - to make the last eight at SW19.
The Tunisian's play is an intriguing balance of poise and power, her skill set is broad and her options voluminous, and right through her run on Church Road, she has known exactly what shot to pick and when.
The drop shot wasn't the go-to ball for Jabeur on Manic Monday, perhaps out of respect for the 20-year-old Pole's athletic ability. It was the slice she relied on, forcing her opponent to get down to the ball, pulling off drop-shot returns that sent the stands into raptures.
The Tunisian blew a 5-3 lead in the opening set when Swiatek won four successive games to take the early advantage. Thereon, it was Jabeur all the way, she converted seven of seven breakpoint openings and saved 12 of 15 breakpoints on her own serve. She pulled off the stout song just when you thought her notes sweet and sweeter.
Jabeur said, "I like to think of myself as a player that adapts to all surfaces. I want to have the whole package, so I'll be ready for any type of player."
The world No. 24, in her second Grand Slam quarterfinal, following her breakthrough at the 2020 Australian Open, said her game was different from other players perhaps because she played with boys growing up. She said, "The mix of doing a lot of sports at the same time also. I love to play football, handball, I was running a lot. Maybe that gives me the opportunity to have good hands."
Jabeur, the Birmingham champion whose record on grass this year now stands at 10-1, closed with an ace and threw open her arms, perhaps signifying the size of her win.
The 26-year-old will play the second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka in the last eight on Tuesday.
Top seed Ashleigh Barty pulled past French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova for a 7-5, 6-3 result. Angelique Kerber, the only former champion left in the draw, put out American teenager Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-4.
