POORLY Ons Jabeur left Garbine Muguruza feeling as sick as a dog – but admits she almost wretched herself over Centre Court.
The Tunisian – winner of the WTA Birmingham title last month – won a two-and-a-half hour classic 5-7 6-3 6-2 to reach the fourth round.
On her two match points, the No.21 seed started to feel ill with nerves and came close to being sick.
Jabeur, 26, said: “I’m actually having a problem with my stomach. I’ve inflammation.
“It has been going on for a while. It bothers me probably with the stress, fatigue, everything.
“Sometimes when I drink water, the water doesn’t go through any more. That’s why I get sick.
“Honestly, I don’t want to interrupt the players, so I try to get rid of it and just continue playing. I’m okay though.
“There were a lot of emotions during this match. You can see me getting angry, smiling and laughing. It’s kind of part of my personality here.”
Jabeur will now play Iga Swiatek, the 2020 French Open winner, after she destroyed Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu 6-1 6-0.
Russian wildcard Liudmila Samsonova beat American Sloane Stephens 6-2 2-6 6-4 and No.2 Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus cruised through 6-0 6-3 over Maria Camila Osorio Serrano of Colombia.
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Swiatek, last year’s surprise French Open champion, had made just one previous appearance on the grass at the All England Club, a first-round defeat in 2019.
“I feel like I’m playing better and better every match, and I’m actually getting more confidence because I have been on a grass court for some time now. I’m practising a lot during my free days,” said the 20-year-old.
“I just feel the surface much, much better than at the beginning of the tournament. It’s easier to implement all the tactics that I wasn’t able to implement when I wasn’t feeling comfortable.
“It’s just easier to lead for me and to be aggressive on court and stay focused all the time.”
