If there was an element of relief in the voice of Ons Jabeur on Monday as she avoided a second consecutive first-round defeat at a grand slam event, there was also a notable strength and belief coming from the Tunisian as she begins a fortnight she hopes will end in historic victory.
The Tunisian, a quarter-finalist last year, opened her Wimbledon campaign with a confident 6-1, 6-3 win against Mirjam Bjorklund of Sweden, a far cry from her first-round defeat at the French Open last month. “I don’t like to make the same mistake twice,” she said, with a smile.
Having struggled with expectations in Paris, Jabeur bounced back by winning the title in Berlin, before partnering Serena Williams in doubles in Eastbourne last week on the American’s return from a year out through injury. Arriving at Wimbledon as the new world No 2 – the highest ranking for any African player in history – has brought its own pressure, but she looks to be enjoying it.
“Last time I was thinking about pressure, didn’t work very well for me,” she said, referring to Paris. “It is great pressure. I’m trying to handle it. Obviously I have never been in this situation before. I was joking with [Novak] Djokovic, I told him: ‘Give me some of the touch to win Wimbledon.’ I was stealing it. It’s great. I’m going to take each match at a time and see what’s happening. Obviously I want to turn that great pressure into great things on the court.
“Tennis is a tricky sport,” said Jabeur, who will play Poland’s Katarzyna Kawa in the second round. “You can lose every week, which is not fun. But the thing is, like I said before in the beginning of the season, I was like No 10 and 9, I said, I belong in this ranking and I don’t feel I deserve the spot to be maybe 5 or 4. Now I feel like I deserve it even more. I feel like I even gained and won matches to prove myself on this level. I do feel more confident. I do feel like I deserve to be in this level. Hopefully next step will be No 1.”
The second seed Anett Kontaveit, the woman Jabeur replaced as the world No 2, came through a tough first set with Bernarda Pera before pulling away for a 7-5, 6-1 victory. The Estonian is in the same section of the draw as Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine, who put tennis into perspective when she revealed that her parents’ home has been bombed by Russian forces. “Thank God they are alive, they are safe,” she said, of her family.
Kalinina will play another Ukrainian, Lesia Tsurenko, in round two, a match that will draw attention to their plight. For Kalinina, though, victory was also important. “it’s hard to focus, but for me it matters if I win or if I lose,” she said.
“I’m not only helping my family, I’m helping other families and other people. It’s a privilege to play here. It’s a privilege to play every tournament. [If] you go further, you earn more money. Then I’m able to help, and I’m helping as much as I can and not only to my family. So for me that matters.”