The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top-seeded Jabeur too much for Gauff in Berlin semifinals
Coco Gauff ’s best run yet in a grass-court tournament came to an end when the 18-year-old American lost to top-seeded Ons Jabeur 7-6 (4), 6-2 in the semifinals of the Berlin Open on Saturday.
Cheered on by fans waving Tunisian flags amid a heatwave in Berlin, Jabeur recovered from 3-1 down in the first set and dominated the second to set up a final against Belinda Bencic today.
“You have to be this good to beat Coco, you know. She’s a great player,” Jabeur said. She added she had “no expectations” of her first grass tournament of the season and paid tribute to the Tunisian fans. “Everywhere I go they’re always here, they’re chanting all the time, it’s amazing,” she said.
Jabeur will play her fourth final in a season where she has reached a career-high ranking of fourth in the world and became the first African and first Arab player to win a WTA 1000 event at last month’s Madrid Open. The tournament in Berlin is her first since a surprise first-round loss at the French Open.
Next week, Jabeur is heading to Eastbourne, where she will team up with Serena Williams in doubles on the American’s return after a year out.
Gauff ’s run in Berlin was her best yet on grass, a surface on which she hadn’t previously reached any quarterfinals.
Bencic is back in the Berlin final for the second straight year in her quest for a first grass-court title in seven years after a hard-fought win over Maria Sakkari.
Bencic needed to play more than three hours in the heat to beat second-seeded Sakkari 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-4 in their semifinal.
Bencic had set point in the firstset tiebreaker before her Greek opponent won the next three points to take the set.
The second set and decider were also closely contested, with Sakkari saving four set points in the second and two match points in the third before Bencic broke through.
Sakkari is ranked sixth, 11 places above Bencic, but had never played a grass semifinal before.
The Swiss player has a chance to win the Berlin title after losing last year’s final to Liudmila Samsonova. Olympic gold medalist Bencic has a 6-8 record in finals including 1-3 on grass, with the lone grass title coming in Eastbourne in 2015.
OSAKA OUT OF WIMBLEDON:
Naomi Osaka pulled out of Wimbledon on Saturday, citing a lingering problem with her left Achilles tendon and marking the second consecutive year she’s decided to sit out the grass-court Grand Slam tournament.
The four-time major champion and former No. 1-ranked player posted a photo of herself on a grass court and wrote on Twitter: “my Achilles still isn’t right so I’ll see you next time.”
Osaka has not played an official match since losing in the first round of the French Open to Amanda Anisimova 7-5, 6-4 on May 24.
Osaka did not play at Wimbledon a year ago as part of a mental health break she took after pulling out of the French Open before her second-round match.