Jabeur was one set away from winning her first major tennis title at Wimbledon last year and the Tunisian said on Saturday she hoped to take a step further and make history at the All England Club.
Anas excelled in the first group in last year’s final before Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina rose to excel in three sets and deprived the “Minister of Happiness”, as she was called in Tunisia, of her first Grand Slam title.
Anas, 28, who also lost the US Open final, clings to the dream of being the first African and Arab player to win the four Grand Slam titles.
“People describe me as having reached the final of last year. It was not great to go to the dressing room and see a picture of Elena, but I try to remove it. But the final remains a big final. It is the final of a major tournament. I would like to take advantage of this experience and the pressure I felt last year to achieve Better results this year.
She added, “My first goal is to enjoy playing on the lawn, and maybe recreate wonderful memories like last year or the previous year.”
Sixth-seeded Anas will meet Polish Magdalena Frijh in the first round, and the Tunisian player confirmed that the first week will be “very difficult and arduous”, as the draw may push her to face Rybakina in the quarter-finals this year.
“I usually don’t look at the lottery, but it’s wrong to follow social media after the lottery. Sometimes I read that and try not to see. But I think half of my lottery is more crowded than the other half.”
