Daily Times

NEW YORK: Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur became the first African woman in history to reach the semi-finals of the US Open on Tuesday as France’s Caroline Garcia ended the hopes of American teenager Coco Gauff to advance to the last four. Jabeur, who also claimed a notable first in July as the first woman from Africa to reach the final at Wimbledon, scored a 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) win over Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic. The 28-year-old will now face Garcia in the semi-finals after the in-form 17th seed dispatched the 18-year-old Gauff 6-3, 6-4 in Tuesday’s other quarter-final. Tomljanovic had landed in the quarter-finals after a run which included a third round victory over Serena Williams, in what was most likely the 23-time Grand Slam champion’s final singles match before retirement. But the Croatia-born Aussie’s battling campaign came to a grinding halt against the dynamic fifth-seeded Jabeur, the Tunisian attacking from the outset and never letting up. Jabeur is known affectionately as the “Minister of Happiness” by fans in Tunisia for the joy that her progress on court has brought to her homeland.

Tomljanovic admitted she had been outfoxed by an opponent she described as “crafty.” Jabeur will head into her semi-final against Garcia aiming to extend an unbeaten record against the Frenchwoman after wins at the 2019 US Open and 2020 Australian Open. Garcia reached the first Grand Slam semi-final of her career after an ultimately emphatic win over American hope Gauff. Garcia arrived in New York fresh from winning the Cincinnati Masters, and Tuesday’s win was her 13th straight singles victory.