The highly anticipated match between Coco Gauff and Ons Jabeur lasted just one set. The Tunisian withdrew in the semifinals of the WTA 250 in Berlin, after a tough and epic first set lost in the tie-break against the American star. After the 6(9)-7 of the first set, Jabeur announced his withdrawal due to an unspecified illness.
It shouldn’t be anything to worry about for the Wimbledon Championships; according to the first investigations carried out on the court, it should not be a physical problem affecting muscles or joints, but an illness perhaps caused by adverse climatic conditions. A hard blow for the German tournament: this is the third withdrawal from the quarter-finals in Berlin, after those of Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka.
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Gauff will challenge her countrywoman Jessica Pegula (who defeated Katerina Siniakova) in the semifinals. After the withdrawal of her opponents, the young American star showed solidarity towards the Tunisian, explaining how she hopes that Ons will feel better tomorrow and underlining how Jabeur is one of the tennis players to beat at Wimbledon.
“It doesn’t feel like a victory. Especially because we had a fantastic first set. I wish Ons the best. I think it’s something that will happen today and she will feel better tomorrow. I think she will be strong at Wimbledon,” she told.
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As mentioned, in the same tournament in Berlin and again in the quarterfinals, Sabalenka withdrew in the match against Anna Kalinskaya due to shoulder pain. The Belarusian was 1-5 down in the score before deciding it was best not to continue. Her physical condition needs to be assessed in view of Wimbledon. Rybakina, however, withdrew from the match against Victoria Azarenka due to an unspecified illness, perhaps due to stomach problems and something related to the weather conditions. The Kazakh’s withdrawal comes after those in Indian Wells and Rome and, with the Championships upon us, her conditions will obviously need to be monitored in the coming days.