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WIMBLEDON, England — Enough ripples of good feeling swept through Center Court Thursday afternoon that they became complicated to untangle, not that anyone with a heart would mind. Suddenly, and all in one powerful embrace on the web, they piled up: the latest opportunity in an impossible story, the expansion of opportunity to new regions of the world, a towering display of sportsmanship, and a mother of two hoping for other women can see her and gain a little more fascination.
Ons Jabeur, 27, went from remarkable to more remarkable, becoming the first Arab woman and the first African woman in a Grand Slam final when she beat her dear friend Tatiana Maria of Germany 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. She and Maria, 34, shared a lengthy embrace at the net, after which Jabert, abandoning the customary call of the winner alone on the court, led Maria out there with him by the hand so the crowd could cheer them both on. Jabeur then praised Maria in an on-court interview for, among other things, reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal after giving birth twice.
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He lit up new worlds in the world – if Jabeur hadn’t already, by winning a major second-tier tournament in Madrid this year and reaching world No. 2. It helped set up a nationalities final that would have seemed fantastic a generation ago: Tunisia vs. Kazakhstan. That’s because Jabeur will play the final Saturday against Elena Rybakina, the 23-year-old Russian who took Kazakh citizenship in 2018 and who dominated 2019 champion Simona Halep, 6-3, 6-3, in the other semifinal.
“I want to become bigger, to inspire many more generations,” Jaber says at his press conference. “Tunisia is connected to the Arab world, it is connected to the African continent. The area, we want to see more players. It’s not like Europe or other countries. I want to see more players from my country, from the Middle East, from Africa. I think at a certain point we didn’t believe enough that we could do it. Now I’m just trying to show that. We hope people are inspired.”
Tunisia, the tiny North African country of 12 million with a storied history in soccer and the Olympics, remained an unlit spot on the tennis globe when Jaber picked up the racket at age 3 with the encouragement of her mother, Samira, in her hometown of Ksar Helal near the Mediterranean coast sea. By age 9, Jabert had moved an hour away with her family to Sousse, also on the coast, and the girl was telling people her goal was to win the French Open someday.
“Everybody was laughing at me,” she said Thursday.
At the age of 13, she went to the capital, Tunis, to train at a national sports academy, and at the age of 16, she won the French Open junior singles title. By the end of 2017, it had reached the top 100; by the end of 2020 top 50; and by the end of 2021 top 10, up in her country’s history with sports stars such as four-time Olympic medalist Mohamed Ghammoudi (men’s athletics), London 2012 gold medalist Habiba Ghriby (women’s steeplechase) and Rio de Janeiro 2016 bronze medalist Marwa Amri (women’s wrestling), not to mention the Tunisian men’s soccer team, who will be heading to the World Cup for the sixth time. Jabeur joined that pantheon with a smart game that boasted a full arsenal of photos (all shown on Thursday) and a substance that made her something else: beloved.
Maria referred to her at various times as “such a great person”, “an amazing person” and “a really open person”, and when the quarter-finals here ended on Tuesday, Marie Buzkova of the Czech Republic welcomed Jaber with open arms a few steps before the hug. “She’s number two in the world,” Maria said, “and she’s still the same person she was many years ago.”
In her country, she has a nickname: “The Minister of Happiness”.
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“Yeah, I mean it’s nice of them to call me that,” she said Thursday. “It’s really amazing. Perhaps they are thinking of having a Minister of Happiness. It’s funny because [an] the actual minister calls out to me, “Hello minister.” It’s funny. Sometimes times are hard in Tunisia. When they see my matches, they always say that sport brings people together. I’m glad they’re following me. They make me do better. I hope I can keep it [minister] title forever.
It seemed almost harsh then that her first Grand Slam semi-final after two previous quarter-finals found her against Maria, a 103rd-ranked player who considers Jabeur “part of the family”. So when they finished, after Jabeur had played as masterful a third set as a strong mind could summon — 10 winners, three unforced errors — they hugged and Maria said, “I’m so happy for you.” They had their moment together, not apart, and Maria waved away to cheers of approval.
“Now she has to make me a barbecue,” Jabert soon told the crowd, “to make up for all the running.” And: “I love seeing Tatiana like this on the court, and let’s not play again.” And to loud cheers: “I am a proud Tunisian standing here today. I know they are going crazy in Tunisia right now.”
After that, the friendship and sportsmanship continued because Jaber took a liking to Maria: “If I didn’t see her two children, I would say she never had children. It’s amazing how he moves on the court. It’s really inspiring to a lot of women.”
“Yes, I hope I can send that message,” Maria said, “that I have two children and I’m on that stage. I think anything is possible. I’m 34 years old with two kids and I’m playing in a semi-final for the first time at Wimbledon… Even with a family, you can have a career and you can go on.”
Then back to the subject of the winner: “I mean she’s also such an inspiration, yeah, to a lot of women on this planet.”
She, Jabeur, surpassed her initial ascent with a subsequent ascent. She talks here about her mental coach, about meditation, about better breathing. “I talk a lot about how it’s good to let go of the feelings, all the stress,” she said. “It’s very important.” On Thursday, she talked about childhood heroes Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Andy Roddick, and recent mentor Billie Jean King.
“She always tells me ‘one ball at a time’ and focus on that,” Jabert said, soon adding, “I always remember her during the game when the score is like I’m behind or something.”
Yet until last Wimbledon, when she reached the quarter-finals, defeating Venus Williams, Garbine Muguruza and Iga Svetek, she had not created a Wimbledon dream. (The French Open, you know.) Then on Thursday, she cruised to a deciding set in the semifinals and exploded for a 5-0 run, with just one game going to deuce. She then sat down, wiped her face with a towel, and adjusted her headband as the chair umpire said, as was customary after the shift, “Time.”
She came out, and two games later he could mean time for new kingdoms in the world—or time for, like King, another pioneer.
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