Ons Jabeur, the second-ranked player in the world, lost to Marketa Vondrousova, a past finalist at the French Open, in the second round of the Australian Open, and is now out.
The Tunisian’s aim of dominating the women’s singles rankings was once again dashed on Thursday as she was defeated 6-1, 5-7, 6-1.
“Despite my health problems, I’ll keep fighting and get better and better. Time to rest and get healthy,” Jabeur wrote on Friday on her Twitter account.
Last year, the 28-year-old made history by being the first African woman and Arab to play in a Grand Slam final at the US Open.
Injury-hampered somewhere With second seed Casper Ruud’s early exit, Novak Djokovic advanced to the third round, opening up a route to a 22nd Grand Slam victory for him.
A day after first seed Rafa Nadal was eliminated, Ruud lost in the second round against Djokovic’s fiercest adversary. In his 6-1, 6-7, 6-2, 6-0 victory, nine-time Melbourne Park champion Djokovic was somewhat slowed down by a strong second set performance by French qualifier Enzo Couacaud, but his heavily-strapped left thigh caused him some concern.
Following a late-night battle against Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia, Andy Murray, who Djokovic has defeated in four Australian Open finals, is still in the running after winning 4-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the second-longest match in tournament history.