Wimbledon 2023: Aryna Sabalenka vs Ons Jabeur preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (2) Aryna Sabalenka vs (6) Ons Jabeur
Date: July 13, 2023
Tournament: Wimbledon 2023
Round: Semifinals
Venue: London, United Kingdom
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Grass
Prize money: £44,700,000
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | Canada - TSN & RDS | UK - BBC & Eurosport | India - Star Sports
Aryna Sabalenka vs Ons Jabeur preview
Top 10 players Aryna Sabalenka and Ons Jabeur are set to fight it out for a place in the title round of the 2023 Wimbledon on Wednesday.
Sabalenka defeated Panna Udvardy, Varvara Gracheva, Anna Blinkova, and Ekaterina Alexandrova to make the last eight here. She was up against 2017 US Open runner-up Madison Keys in the quarterfinals.
Sabalenka broke Keys' serve twice in the first set to go 5-2 up. She then stepped up to serve for the set, and after saving a break point, she got the job done on her third set point.
Keys struck first in the second set to lead 4-2. She tried solidifying her position and was 40-0 up on her own serve in the next game, but Sabalenka had other plans. She broke the American's serve and then bagged the next three games to win the match 6-2, 6-4, and reach the semifinals here for the second time.
Jabeur scored wins over Magdalena Frech, Zhuoxuan Bai, Bianca Andreescu, and Petra Kvitova to reach the quarterfinals. She then faced defending champion Elena Rybakina in a rematch of last year's final at the venue.
Jabeur trailed 3-1 in the first set but managed to level the score down the line. She snagged another break in the 11th game to go 6-5 up and served for the opener in the next game. Rybakina then saved a set point and broke the Tunisian's serve to force a tie-break, which she managed to win as well.
The two were evenly matched for most of the second set. With Rybakina serving to stay in the set at 5-4. Jabeur made her move by breaking the Kazakh's serve to clinch the set. The deciding set was rather one-sided, with the Tunisian losing just one game in it to complete a 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1 comeback victory.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Ons Jabeur head-to-head
Sabalenka leads Jabeur 3-1 in the head-to-head. The former won their previous encounter at the 2022 WTA Finals in three sets.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Ons Jabeur odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Aryna Sabalenka vs Ons Jabeur prediction
Jabeur played fantastic tennis from a set down to defeat Rybakina. She hit 35 winners and committed just 18 unforced errors. Her serving numbers were pretty decent as well. Aside from a minor stumble in the second set against Keys, Sabelenka was in control of the match from the start.
The next match is not only an opportunity for Sabalenka to reach the final but also to replace Iga Swiatek as the World No. 1. The pressure proved to be too much for her the last time as she wasted a match point during her semifinal loss to Karolina Muchova at last month's French Open.
Sabalenka's winning record against Jabeur will give her some respite. She's not bothered too much by the latter's variety and is able to dictate the play with her hard-hitting style. She also defeated the Tunisian at Wimbledon in 2021.
Having played two back-to-back matches against big hitters like Kvitova and Rybakina, Jabeur will be prepared for Sabalenka. However, if the Belarusian is able to maintain her composure, she'll be favored to make it to the final.
Pick: Aryna Sabalenka to win in three sets.