World number 2 Ons Jabeur has been ousted from the Australian Open after Marketa Vondrousova pulled off a 6-1 5-7 6-1 upset in the second round. Jabeur had arrived in Melbourne with high expectations as she was a runner-up at Wimbledon and the US Open last year.
The Tunisian star committed 50 unforced errors and had his serve broken eight times during the 102-minute game. After her loss, Jabeur issued a written statement to the media saying she had difficulty breathing during the game.
“I had trouble breathing. I don’t know what’s going on,” the statement read. “Marketa played a good game and deserved to win. I will do my best to come back stronger.”
Jabeur had already shown some difficulty in this tournament with a first-round upset scare against Tamara Zidansek while recording 49 unforced errors. She managed to pull off that victory, but her mistakes were the most costly on Thursday.
Vondrousova – 2019 French Open runner-up – was not seeded. However, that never meant she wasn’t going to be a tough opponent. The 23-year-old Czech player has been injured in recent years and was out for a long time last season while recovering from wrist surgery. She started reminding everyone how dangerous she can be late last year with a win over world No. 11 Danielle Collins at the Billie Jean King Cup.
“It’s amazing. After the operation, coming back to the big tournaments. You never know how you’re going to do. I felt good, but the draw was super, super hard,” she told the media.
“Then the late games and everything, it was a bit crazy. So I’m very happy to have won.”
Next, Vondrousova will face fellow Czech Linda Fruhvirtova, 17, the youngest player remaining in the draw.
Jabeur wasn’t the only high-end player to fall in the second round. Casper Ruud, the No. 2 seed on the men’s side, who reached the French Open and US Open final in 2022, was rebounded early at this year’s Australian Open when he was beaten 6-3 7-5 6-7 (4 -7) 6-2 by American Jenson Brooksby.
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