Day 6 - match of the day session: One of a kind

Jabeur is a one off. Her game is unique – slices, dices, drop shots and dinks – and her personality is refreshingly different: open, honest, friendly, happy and down to earth. She takes most everything in her stride. 

She is exceedingly proud to represent her country – in Tunisia, they call her the Minister for Happiness – and she is also proud to represent the Arab world and the continent of Africa.

When she is not doing all of that, she campaigns for the rights and status of female athletes. It is a lot of responsibility for one person but Ons wears it lightly – she does what she can but she does not let it dominate her life.

“I wish really to see promoting more women's sport in general and women's tennis in general,” she said. “I will keep pushing for that.”

Even when it comes to her own career, Ons has a very level-headed view of life. A couple of years ago, she pushed her way into the No.2 spot in the rankings by reaching the Wimbledon final, a position she reinforced by reaching the US Open final a couple of months later.

A knee injury at the start of 2023 saw her ranking drop and despite reaching the Wimbledon final again, she has yet to find a way back to her peak.

Here in Paris she is quietly going about her business as everyone talks about the likes of Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka. Jabeur just smiles and gets on with life.

“I don't mind,” she said. “I am what I am today, and if people are not talking about me like they're talking about Iga or Aryna, it’s for a reason. I just want to have what I deserve. I deserve to be seeded eight. That's tennis. I am hanging in there. I'm trying to get back to my level or at least very close to the level I was in. But nothing is sure about tennis. You can play unbelievable and lose, and you can play lousy and win.”

However she plays, Jabeur knows that she has beaten Leylah Fernadez in all three of their previous meetings, the most recent being in Madrid a few weeks ago, which was a tight three-setter. Fernandez, meanwhile, feels she is edging ever closer to the Tunisian.

“Playing Ons is a very hard match because it’s very unexpected: she gives you different looks every single time,” Fernandez said. “But the one thing I do know is that every time, I’m getting closer to figuring it out. 

“A lot of our matches are close so it is a huge battle for me. I’m going to talk with my coach, my team, to see what I need to adjust and what the game plan is. And then have faith in it and follow it 100 per cent. I’m feeling more comfortable on clay, feeling stronger so the confidence is building.”

Four to watch

Court Philippe-Chatrier, first match: Coco Gauff vs Dayana Yastremska (UKR)

The weather has not only disrupted the schedule at Roland-Garros this week, it has changed the conditions. Not that Gauff, the finalist here two years ago, is bothered. She is letting most things slide by her as she keeps her focus on the task ahead – progress in Paris.

She feels that she did not play as well in her last match as in her first but hey-ho (“don’t over analyse”) and she keeps up to date with events at the tennis but she does not obsess about them (“I watch as a fan”). Better still, she beat Yastremska on clay in Madrid a few weeks ago – and it was cold and wet there, too.

Court Philippe-Chatrier, second match: Jannik Sinner vs Pavel Kotov

So far, so good. Jannik Sinner and his sore hip are cruising along nicely. He was unfazed by the vocal French crowd on Wednesday night as he beat Richard Gasquet and he expected no less of the Court Philippe Chatrier spectators: this is Paris and Gasquet is one of their favourites.

Better still, there was no sign of the hip problem he has been dealing with for the past month. The injury may not be completely healed but it is certainly manageable, which is good news as he takes on Kotov. The world No.56 played lights-out to beat Cameron Norrie in the first round and backed that up with a late-night thriller, beating Stan Wawrinka in four sets on Wednesday night.

Court Suzanne-Lenglen, second match: Andrey Rublev vs Matteo Arnaldi

Rublev is not like other athletes. Walk into the players' lounge at any tournament anywhere in the world and they will be talking about sport, watching sport or playing sport either in the real world or the virtual one. Especially during rain delays.

But not Andrey. He will watch the football if the World Cup is on but, really, he is not that bothered. Instead, he just concentrates on himself, his game and what he has to do next. "I'm a tennis player, so I don't need to follow someone,” he said. “I need to focus on myself.”

It has taken him to No.6 in the world and, this week, it has seen him improve on his opening round efforts with a more assured performance on Wednesday. In Arnaldi, the world No.35, he faces a familiar foe: Rublev won their only previous encounter in straight sets last year.

Court Philippe-Chatrier, third match: Iga Swiatek vs Marie Bouzkova

The world No.1 has been playing with fire this week. More used to scything through the early stages of the draw here, she had to save a match point against Naomi Osaka on Wednesday. But more than that she voiced her frustrations at the crowd on Court Philippe-Chatrier (some over-enthusiastic patrons were calling out during the rallies and she didn’t like it). Everyone knows that upsetting the crowd is never wise. “I don't know if that was a good decision or not,” she admitted a little later. After surviving her big scare of the first week, the next round should – hopefully – be a little more straightforward.