Rybakina wins a thriller against Jabeur in Abu Dhabi

The quarter-final clash at the Abu Dhabi tournament pits Elena Rybakina, the tournament's number 1 seed and defending champion, against Ons Jabeur.

In a remake of the Wimbledon 2022 final won by the Kazakh, a place in the semi-finals in the United Arab Emirates is at stake.

The Tunisian, who made her return to the circuit at the start of the season after several months' absence, is hoping to get back into the swing of things.

After authoritative victories over Jelena Ostapenko and Wakana Sonobe, Jabeur faced a tough test against Rybakina, who defeated Katie Volynets in three sets in her opening match.

After a fine battle, Rybakina finally had the last word (6-2, 4-6, 7-6) in a match that had the spectators on the edge of their seats.

Jabeur had saved two match points at 6-5 on her serve, and seemed to have the upper hand in the tie-break, leading 4-2.

But the Kazakh tightened her grip at the right moment and won the last five points of the match to reach the semi-finals of the Abu Dhabi WTA 500 tournament once again.

She will face Belinda Bencic for a place in the semi-finals. The Swiss player, who has been outstanding since her return from pregnancy, eliminated Marketa Vondrousova earlier in the day (7-5, 6-3).

The other semi-final will pit Ashlyn Krueger, who defeated Leylah Fernandez (7-5, 4-6, 6-2), against the winner of the last quarter between Magda Linette and Linda Noskova.