Then there’s Jabeur, a player who discards certainty in favor of doubt. “She’s got the ability to disrupt at every level, in all sorts of ways,” says Doyle. Jabeur’s mix of spins and paces offer a useful model for recreational players, be it with everything from high topspin drives that go deep to her frequent use of the drop shot in situations that range from service returns to on the run to its more conventional spot of deployment, inside the baseline. Few players are as skilled as Jabeur in stretching the dimensions of the court—and keeping opponents constantly guessing. “She gets them off-balance and that’s something every player should think about,” says Rolley. “You don’t just work on hitting flat forehands and backhands. You work on all sorts of shots.”
Armed with such an array, Jabeur’s points combine strategy with opportunism. “She’s thinking one or two shots ahead,” says Doyle. “Tennis is not always about raw power. It’s a game of chess, where a player like Ons is constantly moving pieces around the board in different ways.” As one example, Jabeur’s short backhand slice forces an opponent to dig the ball out and not hit it as forcefully as desired, subsequently providing an opening to drive a forehand hard and deep. And then there’s the moonball that pushes an opponent back and creates the opportunity for a drop shot. Both of these are sequences recreational players can refine.
In today’s match, certainty prevailed over doubt, Swiatek winning, 6-2, 7-6 (5). With power, precision and movement, like a prosecutor trotting out evidence, Swiatek dictated the tempo of one rally after another, for most of the first 1.5 sets taking the racquet out of Jabeur’s hands. “Know thyself and do what you do best,” says Doyle. Repeatedly forced to field Swiatek’s deep, hard drives, Jabeur rarely had time or space to impose her artistry on a highly in-form opponent.
Even then, though, there came a point when Jabeur began to feel comfortable with the predictability of Swiatek’s game, rallying from a 2-6, 0-3, 15-40 deficit to crawl back into the set. Interestingly, Jabeur did this less with variety and more by the most straightforward tactic of them all, consistency, a reasonable amount of depth that contributed to Swiatek playing tighter. The big lesson: Difficult as it is to be losing badly, eager as you may be to exit the court from this uncomfortable situation, don’t lose quickly. Take more time in between points and remember all of your tactical options. Then, even if you lose, you’ll know you at least exhausted every idea possible.
