Emma Raducanu was beaten 6-4, 6-1 by second seed Ons Jabeur in the second round of the Abu Dhabi Open on Wednesday.
The Brit appeared in fine form after defeating Marie Bouzkova by the same scoreline in her first round, but was overpowered by the Tunisian in the last-16 match, which lasted one hour and 18 minutes.
Following the match, Jabeur complimented her British rival and believes Raducanu will regain her best form.
“Emma had an amazing experience in the US Open, and everybody I think followed her, and she has had an amazing career,” Jabeur said about Raducanu, who has struggled to hit the same heights since her Grand Slam win in 2021.
“Everybody has had a different story, but we struggle a lot. We go through a lot of things, but we try to make it here.
“She didn’t make it easy for me,” the Tunisian added. “She’s an amazing player, and I wish her all the best.
“I’m a big fan of hers, and I look forward to seeing her win a lot of matches, just not against me!”
Jabeur’s victory sent the second seed to her first quarterfinal of the year, where she will meet No. 6 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia.
Despite trailing 40-15 in the first game, Jabeur took advantage of Raducanu’s blunders to defeat the 21-year-old.
Jabeur maintained a two-game lead until she broke Raducanu again in the fifth set, rallying from 40-15 to secure a three-game lead with a third break point.
Raducanu showed good indications against the world No. 6 and made her own break to reduce the gap, blasting a forearm from the baseline for 5-3.
Jabeur secured the set to gain the lead and then quickly broke Raducanu’s serve again in the second set, taking complete control of the match. At 3-1, Jabeur’s fourth break of serve proved to be the deciding factor as she extended her lead to 4-1.
Raducanu was unable to mount a comeback, allowing Jabeur, a three-time Grand Slam finalist, to advance to the next round. In the quarterfinals, Jabeur will face Haddad Maia, who had a grueling 3-hour and 42-minute match against Magda Linette to reach this stage.
