Ons Jabeur claimed the 2022 Mutua Madrid Open title with a win over Jessica Pegula in the final. The Tunisian, seeded eighth in the draw posted a 7-5, 0-6, 6-2 victory in an hour and 54 minutes to win her first-ever WTA 1000 crown.
Little separated the two women in the opening set and the 12th seed from the United States had a set point to take the lead against Jabeur. However, Jabeur not only went about erasing that but also wrested Pegula’s momentum in the set and in the match up to that point to clinch the set.
The second set was, however, completely one-sided in favour of Pegula. She saved all three break points she faced and broke Jabeur thrice to equal the match and push it to the decider. In the deciding set, Jabeur and Pegula traded service breaks once before Jabeur gained the upper hand with two more breaks of serve en route to the title.
For the match, Pegula had 14 winners, less than half as many as Jabeur’s 29.
Mutua Madrid Open: Ons Jabeur’s milestone-building continues
Speaking after her win on what winning in the Spanish capital meant to her, Jabeur shared, “I’m so happy that I didn’t wait long [for the title], because I was really disappointed after Charleston and Stuttgart.
I was really close and I know I was playing really good there. But I have been doing a lot of hard work to see that it’s paying off. I cannot describe how I feel right now”. With this win, Ons Jabeur also bettered her win-to-loss record against Jessica Pegula to 3-2.
As a result of her Mutua Madrid Open glory, the 27-year-old will climb back to her previous career-high of no. 7 in the world when the rankings are updated on Monday, 9th May. Pegula will also attain a new career-high of no. 11 in the world. Photo Credit: Mutua Madrid Open Twitter
