Ons Jabeur thumps Jasmine Paolini to reach Berlin Tennis Open quarter-finals

BERLIN: Tunisia's Ons Jabeur stormed into the Berlin Tennis Open quarter-finals with a stunning 6-1, 6-3 victory over French Open doubles champion Jasmine Paolini here at the Steffi Graf Stadion on Wednesday.

Jabeur asserted dominance through her top form against Paolini, who struggled to find her rhythm against the relentless attack from the Tunisian.

The Tunisian left Paolini spinning in the first set with a convincing 6-1 victory. The Italian on the other hand, remained under pressure conceding 14 break points and managing to secure only two in response.

In the second set, Jabeur capitalised by securing a crucial break to take a commanding 4-1 lead and after a hard-fought one hour and 20 minutes duel, closed the set at 6-3.

Jabeur could face 2023 Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova or Diana Shnaider in the quarterfinals of the tournament.

She moved to her fourth quarterfinal of the year but has lost her last eight matches in this round.

The fixture marked Paolini's first after her French Open doubles title triumph alongside Italy's Sara Errani. She had suffered a fourth-round exit in singles, courtesy of Elina Svitolina.

Jabeur's last appearance, however, came on June 16 when she defeated USA's qualifier Caroline Dolehide 7-6 (5), 6-1 at the same venue.

The Tunisian, a two-time Wimbledon finalist, looked comfortable on grass ahead of the season's third Grand Slam in London starting on June 30.

Paula Badosa also beats Emma Navarro on Wednesday and she will face the winner of the match between Chinese qualifier Xinyu Wang and American Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals.