Tunisian Ons Jabeur began a new attempt to become the first Arab and African woman to win a Grand Slam title by achieving a deserved victory with a score of 6-3, 6-1 against Ukrainian Yulia Starodubtseva in the first round of the Australian Open, the first of the four Grand Slam tournaments of the current season, on Monday.
Ranked sixth, Jabeur, who is nicknamed "the Minister of Happiness" by her fans in Tunisia, came very close to winning a Grand Slam title when she reached the final of Wimbledon in the last two editions and lost in the US Open final to Polish player Iga Swiatek in 2022. Jabeur, 29, who exited the tournament in the second round last year due to health issues, said, "Being back here is special. I decided to take a break before participating in the Australian Open. Last year, the situation was not very good for me, and I was a bit nervous, but the audience made me feel less anxious. I saw some fans who have been supporting me since the 2016 qualifiers. They have been following me since I was participating in the qualifiers. Thank you for being here and for supporting me throughout the years."
After exchanging breaks of serve, Jabeur managed to break her Ukrainian opponent's serve to lead 5-3 in the first set before closing out the win. Jabeur showed a much better performance in the second set, leading 3-1 with a powerful forehand, and continued to outshine her opponent to secure the victory, setting up a meeting in the next round with Mira Andreva or Bernarda Pera.
