Australian Open 2020: Johanna Konta outplayed by Ons Jabeur in straight sets
Johanna Konta saw another tournament come to a close too soon at the Australian Open on Tuesday. The Brit had very little to counter against Ons Jabeur, who added another big upset to her career on 1573 Arena with a 6-4, 6-2 win at Melbourne Park.
This was their third meeting and first in a grand slam competition. The Tunisian had the lone win over the Brit dating back to June at Eastbourne, where she took advantage of the troubles that her opponent had.
With struggles in her first match of the season, the 2016 semifinalist spent the last two weeks preparing to make her stance at the open. Jabeur made her fourth appearance in Melbourne Park and would try to give the world number 13 problems.
The Tunisian did well on her opening serve, scoring a shutout against Konta by forcing errors across the court. The Brit found herself trailing in the second but battled back to save breakpoints and even the score. They remained on serve through the next six with Konta getting a grip on her service games that made it harder for Jabeur to counterattack. Konta had a shot at gaining the first break of the set but errors from the second serve let her down.
With Jabeur ahead 5-4, Konta felt the pressure of extending the set and fell with the Tunisian gaining the breakpoint to walk off with the set in 38 minutes. While Jabeur kept the first serve high, Konta suffered on the second with 3 of 10 made and committed a dozen errors. With opportunities fruitful for the 25-year-old, her comfort level would be challenged by Konta going on.
An important break from the Brit was earned to open the second set followed by the break back by Jabeur. She consolidated it with a hold in the third trying to regain her success from the first. A double break for the Tunisian made it 3-1 as the possibility of defeating the 12th seed was near.
Jabeur continued to consolidate games that included holding the fifth but a triple break was not in the cards. Konta found a way to control the service and notch her second win of the set.
When Jabeur returned to serve, she put the pedal to the metal against the 12th seed to pressure Konta into submission. With triple match point easily achieved, Jabeur sent back a low ball that the Brit returned only to see it fall long of the baseline to end her time in one hour and three minutes.
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