Jabeur on revenge mission against Rybakina after hammering Kvitova
Ons Jabeur crushed two-time champion Petra Kvitova 6-0, 6-3 to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals on Monday, immediately setting her sights on revenge against defending champion Elena Rybakina.
Tunisia’s Jabeur, last year’s beaten finalist, dominated Kvitova from the start, breaking the ninth seed three times in a 22-minute opening set on Centre Court.
Kvitova, who won Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014, got a foothold in the match in the first game of the second set but sixth seed Jabeur then reeled off four straight games to take a vice-like grip.
The Czech left-hander broke for the first time in the match in the sixth game to give herself hope, holding serve to close to 4-3.
But it proved merely to be stay of execution for Kvitova as Jabeur broke again to end the match with just 63 minutes on the clock.
“I’m loving every moment that I’m here and you guys have no idea the energy that you bring to me and I just want to win every match so I can see you the next day,” she said.
Jabeur will play Kazakh third seed Rybakina in the last eight, desperate to avenge her defeat in the 2022 final.
“I’m probably going for my revenge,” she said. “It was a difficult final last year. It’s going to bring a lot of memories.
“I’m hoping to play like today and get the win because she’s an amazing player.”
©️ Agence France-Presse