No. 7 Ons Jabeur saved a match point before sealing her 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 semifinal victory in Rome over Daria Kasatkina with her signature cheeky drop shot.
Friday’s win sends Jabeur to her second consecutive WTA 1000 final after clinching the Madrid title.
The 27-year-old is only the fourth player to appear in the Madrid and Rome final in the same year, joining Dinara Safina who did so in 2009, Serena William who made the run in 2013 and Simona Halep who recorded the achievement in 2017.
With her SIGNATURE drop to win it ✍️🇹🇳 @Ons_Jabeur holds off Kasatkina to reach a second straight WTA 1000 final!Faces Swiatek for the Rome title on Sunday at #IBI22 pic.twitter.com/OMdMMQ1nmi— wta (@WTA) May 14, 2022
With her SIGNATURE drop to win it ✍️🇹🇳 @Ons_Jabeur holds off Kasatkina to reach a second straight WTA 1000 final!Faces Swiatek for the Rome title on Sunday at #IBI22 pic.twitter.com/OMdMMQ1nmi
Jabeur has been on a tear, notching 11-straight wins, contributing to her 27 total victories on the season. Clay has been particularly kind to Jabeur, with the Tunisian star winning a tour-leading 17 matches on the surface this year.
On Sunday, Jabeur will face a hot Iga Swiatek, who is sitting on a 27-match win streak, in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia final.
If Jabeur can blunt Swiatek’s historic run, she will be only the third player in history to win in Rome and Madrid in the same year.