Hello and welcome to coverage from Wimbledon of the second women’s semi-final between Ons Jabeur and Aryna Sabalenka on Centre Court.
Jabeur was runner-up last year but gained revenge on Elena Rybakina by beating her in the quarter-finals on Wednesday. The Tunisian is aiming to finally win her first grand slam title but faces a stern examination of those ambitions in the shape of Sabalenka.
Despite Sabalenka being the bigger hitter, Jabeur says she is confident she can stand up to the challenge. “For me it’s going to be very similar to the quarter-final,” she said. “I’m going to try my best to stay focused and take every opportunity.
Aryna is more emotional than Elena, so maybe it could be a good or bad thing, I’m not sure. But let’s see. “I’m going to prepare and take my revenge from two years ago. I think I showed to myself that I can stand up against these players. It’s a great proof for me to start the game and to be confident and to go 100 per cent.
Honestly, I have nothing to lose.” Victory for Sabalenka would send her through to a maiden Wimbledon final and guarantee she replaces Iga Swiatek as the new world No 1.
“To be honest, I want both (smiling,” she said. “But I’m trying to focus on myself because I know if I’ll start thinking about all this stuff, I’m going to lose my focus on court, my game. So I’m trying to focus on myself right now and make sure that every time I’m on the court I bring my best tennis.
“Then later on we’ll see if I’m ready to become world No 1 or if I’m ready to play another final.” The first semi-final is currently taking place and you can follow the latest updates here