Already at 2-1 in the first set against the Colombian Camila Osorio, Jabeur remained in his seat crying and beating his chest. After a while physio arrived and they went out to the dressing room for treatment of severe asthma problems.
– When I was younger, I was diagnosed with asthma, and taking quite a lot of time off hasn’t helped. I think that provoked it even more, says former world number two Jabeur, who after an injury-riddled last year fell to 39th in the rankings to Reuters.
Jabeur was able to win the match 7–5, 6–3 despite the difficult problems.
– It was a very tough day. I had to try to avoid long duels. I played against Camila, which is not the best opponent when you’re in this condition but I apologized at the end of the match, because I really didn’t want to behave like this on the court, says Jabeur who thinks it’s become too difficult to continue the match if she lost the first set.