Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2021: Ons Jabeur vs Belinda Bencic preview, head-to-head & prediction
Fixture: (1) Ons Jabeur vs (2) Belinda Bencic.
Date: 16 December 2021.
Tournament: Mubadala World Tennis Championship.
Round: First round (Final).
Venue: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Category: Exhibition Tournament.
Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt.
Prize money: $250,000.
Match timing: Not before 8 pm local time, 4 pm GMT, 9:30 pm IST.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Eurosport.
Ons Jabeur vs Belinda Bencic preview
Ons Jabeur made a huge breakthrough this season while continuing to break barriers for Arab women in sports. She won her maiden title at the Birmingham Open, while reaching two more finals. The 27-year-old also reached her second Grand Slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon.
Jabeur also made her first semifinal at the WTA 1000 level at Indian Wells and tallied five wins over top 10 players. She recorded a whopping 48 wins this season and her consistency was rewarded with a debut in the top 10 of the rankings, peaking at number seven so far. This is the highest an Arab player has ever been ranked in the history of the sport.
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Unfortunately, Jabeur's season ended on a disappointing note. She was unable to compete at the same level in the last few events of the year due to an injury and missed out on possible qualification for the WTA Finals.
Meanwhile, Belinda Bencic had a good year herself. During the first half of the season, she reached two WTA 500 event finals in Adelaide and Berlin.
At the Tokyo Olympics, she won the gold medal in singles and silver medal in doubles. She continued her string of good performances as she reached the quarterfinals of the next five events she competed in. Unfortunately, Bencic withdrew prior to the start of the BNP Paribas Open due to an injury and didn't compete for the remainder of the season.
Olympic Medalist* ☺️🤯
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Bencic returned to action at the Billie Jean King Cup where she was instrumental in Switzerland's run to the title round. She won three of her singles matches, with a solitary loss coming against Liudmila Samsonova in the final against Russia.
Ons Jabeur vs Belinda Bencic head-to-head
Ons Jabeur and Belinda Bencic have faced each other only once before, in the third round of the Madrid Open this year. The head-to-head is 1-0 in favor of the Swiss as she led 7-6 (2) 4-3, when Jabeur had to retire due to an injury.
Ons Jabeur vs Belinda Bencic prediction
Both players have had to deal with injuries derailing their season. However, Bencic will have a slight advantage heading into this contest as she has some match practice heading into this game.
The Swiss returned to action at the Billie Jean King Cup where she defeated Grand Slam champions Angelique Kerber and Barbora Krejcikova. The wins indicated that she has recovered quite well, while Jabeur hasn't played in almost two months.
Bencic is a capable server, though she's prone to making double faults during high-pressure situations. She also likes to take the ball early on the rise and dictate play with her powerful groundstrokes.
Jabeur, on the other hand, likes to make things difficult for her opponents with a varied style of play and by not giving them any rhythm. She utilizes drop shots and slices quite frequently, preying on her opponent's frustration to ultimately win the point.
This will be an interesting matchup featuring a clash of playing styles that'll make it fun to watch. Bencic's tactical acumen should give her the edge and help her deal with Jabeur's trickery on the court.