Jubilant Jabeur reaches ladies' singles final

On achieving the biggest success of her career on Thursday, a place in the Wimbledon final, Ons Jabeur’s first thoughts were to celebrate with her close friend Tatjana Maria.

The Tunisian became the first African woman to reach a Grand Slam decider when defeating her German rival 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 with a sublime performance.

There was so much more to this match than simply the magnitude of it being a Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon. It carried the most personal of touches.

Maria, a mother-of-two who only returned to the Tour this year, enraptured fans throughout Wimbledon with a career best run at Grand Slam level at the age of 34.

The friendship the barbecue buddies share is so close Jabeur is known as “Aunty Ons” by Maria’s children. This came to the fore in a touching postscript to the stellar semi-final.

“I definitely wanted to share the moment with her at the net,” Jabeur said.

“She is such an inspiration for so many players, including me, coming back after two babies. I still don’t know how she did it.”

From the opening game, it was apparent this would be a match where disguise and sleight of hand when it came to the tennis being played would be at the forefront. What fun it proved.

The two friends are specialists in disrupting the rhythm of their rivals. They changed the spin, pace and trajectory of their shots regularly, with the variety delightful to watch.

It was common for them to slice off both wings and it almost seemed a challenge to both women, within the broader battle, to see which one of them could find the most acute angle.

All of this left the Centre Court crowd buzzing with anticipation, pondering what trick each woman might conjure next, the “Ooohs” and “Aaahs” all part of the semi-final soundtrack.

Maria ventured to the net repeatedly in an opening service game lasting eight minutes and 16 points and was forced to save three break points before holding. This was a pointer of what was to come in an intriguing battle.

Jabeur is more than capable of striking crisply hit forehand and backhand drives to raise the pace in a point on a whim. This proved apparent as she seized control early on.

The 27-year-old's double-handed backhand was effective when whipped cross-court on a sharp angle, particularly as she only deployed the shot sporadically.

She was able to break the German in the third game of the match and again in the seventh to move to a 5-2 lead, with the overall quality of her tennis sublime.

But Maria showed great resilience throughout her return to Wimbledon and demonstrated this tenacity again during a second set where she proved the masterful disruptor.

Jabeur was forced to dig as deeply as she has throughout The Fortnight just to stay with the world No.103. Her point to hold serve for 3-5 was a classic illustration of this.

From retrieving balls deep behind the baseline to dashing forward to weave a chipped backhand passing shot despite being at full stretch, she claimed a point that had everything.

It did not prevent Maria claiming the set, but it was clear Jabeur had again found her rhythm.

She seized a service break for a 2-0 lead with a perfectly executed forehand passing shot that dipped across in front of the advancing Maria.

When the mother-of-two missed a high forehand volley to concede a second service break, the end of her remarkable run at Wimbledon was nigh.

This was largely due to the brilliance of Jabeur. Almost everything she did was on point. Drop volleys stopped dead. Forehands clipped baselines. Her serving picked up after a lull.

It was a wondrous third set and one worthy of the prized role model she has become in the African-Arab world and also of the Wimbledon finalist she now is.

“It is a dream coming true from years and years of work and sacrifice. I am really happy it is paying off and I continue for one more match now,” she said.

“I am a proud Tunisian woman standing here today. I try to inspire as much as I can. It is not just Tunisia. I want to see more and more Arab-African players on the tour. I just love the game."