Ajla Tomljanovic loses in US Open quarterfinal to history-making Ons Jabeur
Four days after Ajla Tomljanovic ended Serena Williams’ career (maybe?), she had her U.S. Open run ended by her own friend.
Fifth-seeded Ons Jabeur — the Wimbledon finalist and Tomljanovic’s longtime pal — cruised to a straight-set 6-4, 7-6 quarterfinal win in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday.
The Tunisian not only reached just her second career major semifinal, but also became the first African woman to make the U.S. Open semis in the Open Era — having spoken her previously-stated goal into existence.
“I have to say things out loud and kind of manifest them in my way. Yeah, I am very satisfied with the semifinal. But … only two matches left, I’m going to give it all,” said Jabeur, who’ll face Caroline Garcia, who defeated American Coco Gauff, 6-3, 6-4 in the night session.
“[Gauff] is not really the young player coming up,” Jabeur said before Gauff’s match. “She’s someone that is looking forward to win Grand Slams. I said that before. I think she will win any Grand Slam. I know she can do it. It’s just a matter of time.”
Tuesday’s loss was Tomljanovic’s return to Ashe since her victory over Williams, Sunday’s win over Liudmila Samsonova having come on Louis Armstrong.
“I was pretty pumped to play, and this is what you’ve got to do to win Slams. Every match is taxing and mentally draining,” Jabeur said. “I was pretty pleased to get through that match against Samsonova, because that one I felt like I was a little low on energy. [Tuesday] I don’t think the energy was the problem: It was more some of the stuff I did on court, the choices I made, the execution. I came up against a player that wasn’t giving me much either. That doesn’t make it easier.”
Tomljanovic — a 29-year-old who competes for Australia but was born in Croatia — came to her press conference wearing a black Brooklyn Nets cap. The Nets obviously had late Croatian icon Drazen Petrovic, and Tomljanovic said she’s a big fan of the current roster.
“I mean, I am a huge basketball fan,” Tomljanovic told The Post. “I haven’t been to [Barclays Center]. I haven’t been to a Brooklyn Nets game in Brooklyn: I was at one game when they played the Knicks in Madison Square Garden. But I like to currently the players on that team, so definitely I am a fan. But yeah, so kind of both the team and the players. Just basketball.”
Casper Ruud dominated 13th-seeded Matteo Berrettini 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (4) to reach his first U.S. Open semifinal.
The fifth-seeded Ruud will face either Nick Kyrgios or Karen Khachanov in his second Grand Slam semifinal of the year after falling in the French Open final. And the 23-year-old Norwegian could be just a victory away from taking over as the ATP’s new No 1.
“I don’t want to think too much about it, honestly,” Ruud said. “It’s of course something that all young players dream about. If I’m in a position to do it, let’s see if I can accomplish it.”
Rafael Nadal is currently No. 1 after Daniil Medvedev’s loss. But if Ruud or young Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz makes the U.S. Open final, either of them would take over as world No 1. If they both make the final, the champ would take the top ranking.
Ruud’s coach insists he hasn’t thought much about it, which strains credulity since he’s also Ruud’s father.
“Not really; I have seen the writings about it, and we are just trying to take one match at a time. It’s still far away, I think,” said Christian Ruud. “But of course it’s nice that it’s possible, and Casper has a little bit of motivation with that in mind, because even when he was small, his ultimate goal was to be No. 1 in the world. Yeah, the chances are still there, so we are happy about that and we just have to play one match at a time, I think.”
Alcaraz played one of the latest matches in U.S. Open history, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win over Marin Cilic that ended at 2:24 a.m. Tuesday on Ashe.