Ons Jabeur and Jessica Pegula reached the Madrid Open Final each earning a chance to win their first WTA 1000 crown.
The No.8 seed Jabeur also became the first Arab player to reach a WTA 1000 final after easily defeating Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-2, 6-3 in 61 minutes.
Putting a string of junior-level losses behind her, the Tunisian was both ruthless and efficient against Alenxdrova, opting to go toe-to-toe with her in terms of first-strike tennis, racking up quick points with sheer power rather than relying on flashy strokes.
After a scratchy start that had already seen an exchange of breaks, Jabeur regained her advantage by coming out on top of a spectacular rally to break for 4-2 in the first set.
In total, Jabeur dropped just six points behind her first serve taking her delivery to untouchable heights in the second set landing 80% of them and conceding only four points in her service games overall.
Jabeur is guaranteed to rise from No.10 to No.8 in the rankings next week, and a title would see her equal her career-high ranking of No.7 in the world.
She will meet the 12th seed Jessica Pegula in the final who reached the biggest stage of her career at Madrid Open by defeating Jil Teichmann of Switzerland 6-3, 6-4 in their late-night semifinal clash.
In a match that went past midnight local time, Pegula took 1 hour and 21 minutes to ease past 35th-ranked Teichmann in the pairs’ first meeting.
The final will be Pegula’s first WTA 1000 final and her fourth Tour final overall.
Ons Jabeur and Jessica Pegula in Madrid Open Final may not have been predicted by too many experts before the tournament began.
The finalists have been aided by the absence of the world no.1 Iga Swiatek and the ouster of many high-profile names in women’s tennis.
The head-to-head record between Pegula and Jabeur is tied at 2-2, but this will be their first clay-court meeting after four previous hard-court matches.
Pegula won the first two meetings but Jabeur holds wins in the latest two outings.
