Wimbledon 2023: ‘It’s her time’ – Ons Jabeur’s mental strength to secure her glory, says Barbara Schett

Barbara Schett was impressed with how Ons Jabeur turned things around to beat Aryna Sabalenka in their epic Wimbledon semi-final, and feels the Tunisian is in a better head space than 12 months ago.

Elena Rybakina proved too strong for Jabeur 12 months ago, but Eurosport expert Schett feels the 28-year-old is stronger mentally than in 2022.

“What a performance it was from Ons,” Schett said. “Especially after losing the first set being down 4-2, she managed to turn it around.

“I was in awe the way she was returning, the way she dealt with the power shots of Aryna Sabalenka and also she moved extremely well and her mindset, it’s so different here in Wimbledon this year.

“It shows you how strong she is mentally and she said it as well after losing the first set, she took all that anger together and moved into some positive thinking and that’s why she won the match as well.”

Marketa Vondrousova stands between Jabeur and a first Grand Slam title, and Schett feels it is there for her to win.

“She wants to grab her first Grand Slam title,” Schett said. “At the beginning of the year, she was struggling with so many injuries. Now, she has found her form.

“She’s playing some of her best tennis and with that combination of being mentally so strong as well.

“I think it’s her time.”

Schett’s fellow Eurosport expert Mats Wilander was also impressed with Jabeur, and believes playing with intensity is key to her chances.

“The big difference with her is that the intensity is higher all the time and the way that comes out in her game is that she becomes more aggressive,” Wilander said. “She’s hungrier on the ball and she’s hitting less finesse shots.

“I think she’s shown everybody, she’s shown the locker room, but she’s also shown herself what she needs to do and what she’s capable of doing when she steps in and becomes aggressive.”

As well as losing in last year’s Wimbledon final, Jabeur fell at the final hurdle at the US Open.

Like Schett, Wilander feels this is Jabeur’s chance to get her hands on a major title.

“This is easily the one that she has the most chance on paper,” Wilander said. “The way that she has played, I would say that she’s in better form now than she was in those two slams last year.

“She will go in as a very heavy favourite.”

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