Madrid, May 8 / BNA / Tunisian Anas Jabeur won her first WTA title after defeating American Jessica Pegula 7-5, 0-6, 6-2 in an enjoyable final match of the Madrid Open.
Jaber was in brilliance on the clay court and the 27-year-old put in a resolute display against Pegula to finish her journey in the Spanish capital perfectly.
Jabeur started slow, trailing 1-4 in the opener, but capitalized on a few loose baseline errors from Pegula to make it 4-4.
The first Arab player to win the top 10 in the world rankings, Jaber showed flair and fighting spirit when she held a set point at 4-5 before locking in the group in her serve.
But the Tunisian lost her grip in the second set as Pegula handed her bread, which remarkably recovered and seemed unstoppable.
The decisive seed Jaber, ranked tenth in the world at her best aggressive form, witnessed the Tunisian fight through a long match and break her first chance to gain a double lead and a chance to win.
Jaber fell to her knees after completing the biggest win of her career, becoming the first African player to win the WTA 1000 title.