Jabeur fends off Mertens to reach Wimbledon quarters

Jabeur fends off Mertens to reach Wimbledon quarters

Sports

Ons Jabeur reached her second consecutive Wimbledon quarter-final on Sunday.

LONDON (AFP) - World number two Ons Jabeur reached her second consecutive Wimbledon quarter-final on Sunday, beating Elise Mertens 7-6 (11/9), 6-4.

The Tunisian fended off five set points for her 24th-seeded Belgian opponent in the first set tie-break to edge ahead.

Jabeur broke serve twice in the second set to seal the win and set up a last-eight clash against Czech player Marie Bouzkova.

The 27-year-old said she wanted to be a trailblazer for Arab and African players.

"I wish I could really give that message to the young generation not just from my country but from the African continent," she said.

"I want to see more players here. I want them to believe more in themselves and believe they can be here.

"I don t come from a rich family so you have to stop finding excuses and just go for it, enjoy it."