“Crazy Shots…”
Ons Jabeur plays with a lot of style, an approach she has called “Crazy Shots…” The Tunisian does it because of the joy the creative shot-making brings her. At the Australian Open, she became the first Arab woman in history to reach the quarterfinals of Grand Slam event by defeating Qiang Wang of China, 7-6, 6-1.
The round before, Jabeur brought Caroline Wozniacki’s career to a close, defeating the Dane, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5. (In the same round, Wang had been magnificent, surprising Serena Williams, 6-4, 6-7, 7-5). Tournament winner Kenin slipped past the 25-year-old Jabeur, 6-4, 6-4, in the quarterfinals.
Jabeur earned further acclaim at Roland Garros by becoming the first Arab woman to reach the last 16 in Paris when she edged No. 9 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, 7-6, 2-6, 6-3 in the third round. In her next match, Danielle Collins of the United States was 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 better. More noteworthy, Jabeur finished the year at a career-high No. 31.
Sixteen Years Earlier…
Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska had never won a main draw singles match at a Grand Slam. Ranked No. 131 going into Roland Garros, she passed two three set tests, one in the second round, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 against Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan and another in the fourth round when she stopped Barbora Krejčíková of the Czech Republic, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3. After scoring a 6-2, 6-4 quarterfinal victory over Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, she became the third women’s qualifier in the Open Era to reach a Slam semifinal. Looking to surpass the 2004 achievement of countrywoman, Paola Suárez, she was unable to do so. Elena Dementieva of Russia ended Suárez’s memorable performance, 6-0, 7-5 in the Roland Garros semifinals. Świątek concluded Podoroska’s “Tournament To Remember” 6-2, 6-1 in that same round. Her showing capped a year in which the 23-year-old earned WTA Newcomer of the Year honors.
Making A Difference…
Bushfires soiled the air quality but not the spirit of “help” leading into the Australian Open. Nick Kyrgios increased awareness when he tweeted, “I’m kicking off the support for those affected by the fires. I’ll be donating $200 per ace that I hit across all the events I play this summer”. Following the Aussie’s lead, ATP Cup participants contributed to the WWF’s Australian Wildlife and Nature Recovery Fund. WTA performers raised funds for the Australian Red Cross.
During the COVID-19 break from competitive play, a number of other players used the time off to help others. Roger Federer and his wife, Mirka made a substantial donation to assist the most vulnerable families in Switzerland. Novak Djokovic and his wife Jelena contributed a significant sum to purchase medical equipment and supplies in Serbia. Two-time German Roland Garros doubles champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies did their part. Krawietz worked at Lidl, a supermarket in Munich. Mies joined German football player, Bastian Oczipca, delivering fruit to essential workers and those in the special needs community.
WTA 4 Love was active distributing meals and masks, along with taking part in other COVID-19 relief projects. Andy Murray donated his Virtual Madrid Open winning prize to Britain’s National Health Service and Player Relief Fund. Rafael Nadal made contributions to several organizations that were providing assistance. Andy Roddick’s Foundation created the Family Emergency Fund. Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi provided daily workers in Pakistan with ration bags for their families. Jannik Sinner of Italy came up with a very clever approach to making a difference. He created the SinnerPizzaChallenge and promised to donate ten Euros that would be matched by Starwing Sports, (his management company), for every photo that he received of a pizza that looked like him or an important Italian. The money was used to fund the purchase of medical supplies needed throughout Italy.
