(Reuters) – Tunisian Ons Jabeur sealed her first WTA 1000 title after defeating American Jessica Pegula 7-5 0-6 6-2 in an entertaining Madrid Open final on Saturday.
Jabeur had been in scintillating form at the claycourt tournament and the 27-year-old produced a determined display against Pegula to end her journey in the Spanish capital on the perfect note.
Jabeur had a slow start, being down 1-4 in the opener, but took advantage of a handful of loose baseline errors from Pegula to make it 4-4.
The first Arab player to crack the top 10 of the world rankings, Jabeur showed flair and fighting spirit as she saved a set point at 4-5 before closing out the set on her serve.
The Tunisian, however, lost her grip in the second set where she was handed a bagel by Pegula, who recovered remarkably and looked unstoppable.
The decider saw world number 10 Jabeur at her aggressive best — the Tunisian fighting through a long deuce game and breaking on her first chance to earn a double-break lead and chance to serve out the win.
Jabeur fell to her knees after completing the biggest win of her career, becoming the first African player to win a WTA 1000 title.
(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
