PARIS: Ons Jabeur enjoyed the most efficacious clay court season on the WTA Tour coming into Paris. She had notched up 17 wins. The Tunisian, however, failed to find an out on Sunday as she went down 6-3, 6-7 (4), 5-7 to Poland's Magda Linette in the first round.
Jabeur, who won the WTA 1000 title in Madrid earlier this month, couldn't check a determined Linette. "I felt that she had an answer to all my shots, she played very well in the important moments," the 27-year-old said. "I felt that I couldn't pressure her as much as I wanted to. She was playing top-20 today."
As generous as she was in her praise, Jabeur's disappointment in not being able to extend her stay here was obvious.
"I wanted to go as far as I could in this tournament, I played well on clay in Madrid and in Rome. It's difficult to take this one in," she said. "But that's what sport is like and you need to be smart enough to move forward. Maybe it was a good thing to lose today. I rather say this and be really tough with myself than waste all the good energy that I got from Madrid and Rome."
