Jabeur into Wimbledon second round

LONDON: Ons Jabeur marked her rise to number two in the world by easing into the Wimbledon second round with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Swedish qualifier Mirjam Bjorklund on Monday.

Jabeur, a quarter-finalist in 2021 and fresh from the grass-court title in Berlin, raced to victory in just 54 minutes under the Court One roof. “Today I achieved my highest ever ranking and dropping just four games is a great start to the tournament,” said the Tunisian.

“It’s amazing to be back on Court One. The grass suits my drop shots and slice. “Now I hope to go further than the quarter-finals.” Jabeur, who rose to a career-high second in the world rankings on Monday, reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon last year, seeing off Venus Williams and Garbine Muguruza before falling to world number one Iga Swiatek. Jabeur will face either Rebecca Marino of Canada or Poland’s Katarzyna Kawa for a place in the last 32.