Wimbledon 2022: Watson, Jabeur roll on; Ostapenko scores comeback win against Begu

London, July 1 (IANS): British star Heather Watson and Tunisian Ons Jabeur reached the fourth round at Wimbledon while former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko survived a scare but made it to the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time in four years.

Watson, who made her Wimbledon debut 12 years ago as a teenager and is now 30 and the home favourite, made it to the fourth round at the All-England Club for the first time.

The former World No.38, now ranked No.121, beat Slovenia’s Kaja Juvan 7-6(6), 6-2 on No.1 Court on Friday to break new ground at her home Grand Slam. The 30-year-old Watson had reached the third round at Wimbledon in 2012, 2015 and 2017 but could not get past that stage.

After wrestling momentum away from Juvan in the opening set, Watson largely cruised until she approached the finish line.

The Slovenian was the first player to break serve in the opener at 3-3, but Watson broke back immediately. Later, Juvan served to stay in the set twice, holding at love each time, to force a tiebreak. There, Watson opened up leads of 5-2 and 6-3, but ultimately needed four set points to win the set; after saving three with brave play, Juvan double-faulted on the fourth.

After winning the first five games of the second set, Watson needed every inch of 1 hour, 43 minutes on court to come through. The match’s last three games all extended into deuce, and she saved three break points in the last game before finally winning the match.

Ons On The Rise

Ons Jabeur, the third-seeded Tunisian who emerged champion in Berlin two weeks ago, extended her grass-court winning streak to eight with a 6-2, 6-3 win over French teenager Diane Parry.

Jabeur, who is yet to lose a set in this event, has dropped just 13 games in six sets at the Championships so far. Against Parry on Centre Court, she won both the first five games and the match’s last 14 points.

Jabeur next faces either former champion and No.15 seed Angelique Kerber or No.24 seed Elise Mertens.

Meanwhile, Ostapenko advanced to the fourth round with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 defeat of Irina-Camelia Begu in the third round.

Ostapenko’s onslaught veered off target in the opening set but she recovered in time, adding 28 winners to her Championships haul. She is through to the second week for the first time since she reached the semi-finals four years ago.

“I love to play on this court,” the 2014 junior champion told spectators.

“The energy is amazing and I felt your support even when I was down and it helped me. I just love you guys. After that, I played a little bit smarter and didn’t miss so much. I was close to my best tennis in the second and third sets. I hope you guys enjoyed it.”

In the second set, Ostapenko found some scintillating tennis to break Begu three times, each after a tight deuce tussle, and put together a nine-game streak of her own as she took this form into the decider. Leading 3-1, Ostapenko passed her first test on serve since the first set, saving two break points and edging up 4-1, according to a report on the WTA website.

As the finishing line approached, she found yet another level, breaking Begu for 5-1 with her most breathtaking game of the match. That was sealed with a spectacular forehand pass on the run, one of the 28 clean winners Ostapenko struck throughout the match.