Ons Jabeur is in the semis of the women’s draw after bouncing back from being a game away from defeat to beat Maria Sakkari 1-6, 7-5, 6-1.
Tunisian Jabeur made history last weekend by winning in Madrid to become the first Arab or African player to claim a WTA 1000 title and let out a roar of delight after a magnificent win at the Foro Italico.
The 27-year-old looked certain to be heading out after being hammered by world number four Sakkari in the first set and going down 5-2 in the second.
Greece’s Sakkari was serving for what appeared to be a routine win but from nowhere Jabeur pushed back, breaking serve in game eight before winning the next seven to go three ahead in set three, a lead which she never relinquished.
“In my head at 5-2 I said, You cannot finish those two weeks, those amazing almost three weeks, like this,” Jabeur told reporters.
“To back up the performance from Madrid, it’s very important for me… It’s one of the reasons why I’m here, why I want to continue showing myself on the court.”
In the last four, Jabeur will face Daria Kasatkina, who went through after Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann retired injured while the Russian was leading 6-4, 3-2.
Earlier Iga Swiatek stretched her winning streak to 26 matches after a straight-sets victory over Bianca Andreescu, 7-6 (7/2), 6-0.
The world number one, bidding for a fifth consecutive tournament triumph, will face Aryna Sabalenka after the third seed won 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 against Amanda Anisimova.
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