Wimbledon: Elena Rybakina beats Jabeur to win historic maiden Grand Slam title

London, July 9 (IANS): Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan defeated Ons Jabeur of Tunisia to win the women’s singles title at Wimbledon in three sets and claimed a historic maiden Grand Slam title for herself and her country.

Rybakina fought back brilliantly after losing the first set to defeat third seed Jabeur 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in a final between two first-timers.

Rybakina lost her serve early in the first set as Jabeur took a 3-1 lead and went on to a dominant 6-3 win. Jabeur is the first female player from the Arab world to reach this stage in a Grand Slam competition and though she started well, Rybakina was too good for her on Saturday.

Rybakina found her rhythm in the second set and dominated the match thereafter, negating Jabeur’s dogged style of play that involves mixing powerful groundstrokes with well-disguised drop shots, with big serves and brilliant net play.

The 23-year-old Moscow-born Rybakina broke Jabeur early in the second set, and then got the better of her rival’s serve once again to take the match into a decider.

Though Jabeur tried to fight back in the final set and had three break points at 2-3 down, Rybakina, who defeated former champion Simona Halep in the semifinal, saved all three and went on to win the set, match and Championship.