Not content with raising the bar as the first Arab woman to reach two Grand Slam finals in 2022, Ons Jabeur only wants more.
The Tunisian world No.2 makes her Adelaide International debut on Thursday against Sorana Cirstea and after a year of consolidation among the upper echelon, the 28-year-old was ready to take the next step.
“I was kind of ready to win it last year, but it didn’t happen, and it didn’t happen for a reason, obviously,” the top seed said. “I’m glad that I got the experience enough to have two finals in a Grand Slam.
“We’ve worked really hard to improve a lot of things during the preseason. We are more aware of my game. I am more aware of my body, my game.
“It’s a great thing. I feel like this year is going to be very special for me. I gave it all. I put in the hard work during practices, and I’m hitting the ball good… I’m doing everything possible to win a Grand Slam, and for me, I’m just going to go for it. This year, 2023, is about just be free and play my game on the court.”
The 32-year-old Cirstea opened her Adelaide account with a straight-sets win over Swiss Viktorija Golubic.
While the Romanian won her first two encounters with last year’s Wimbledon and US Open runner-up, the Tunisian prevailed in their most recent in Rome last year.
Men’s top seed Novak Djokovic made a welcome return to the site of his 2007 title run at The Drive on Tuesday with a comfortable straight-sets result over French journeyman Constant Lestienne.
The Serbian puts his early-season form to the test against another Frenchman in the second round when he meets Lestienne’s doubles partner, 64th-ranked Quentin Halys.
“The first couple of matches, we all are still finding form, finding the groove on the court, so to say, this fine tuning, fine feelings that we have on the court,” Djokovic said. “It takes a few matches to really start engines properly.
But for me actually, I felt quite comfortable on the court in terms of striking the ball.”
Djokovic did not drop a set when the pair crossed paths in the second round of the 2016 Australian Open and while 2022 was not his most prolific season, he still finished with the Wimbledon trophy among five titles.
Like Lestienne, Halys’ best results came at Challenger level last year with three titles from seven finals.
Thanasi Kokkinakis earns his chance to extend his stay before his hometown crowd when he meets the sole remaining seed in the bottom half of the men’s draw, Jannik Sinner on Thursday.
The Australian eked out a pair of tiebreaks to see off American Maxime Cressy on Monday night, his first match since landing his maiden title in Adelaide a year ago, while sixth seed Sinner easily dismissed Briton Kyle Edmund on Tuesday.
There was little to split the two when they met for the first time in Cincinnati last year as Sinner narrowly prevailed in a third-set tiebreak after three hours and 15 minutes.
Five of Victoria Azarenka’s 21 career titles have come on Australian soil, including her two Grand Slam trophies, and on Tuesday the former world No.1 continued her affinity for hard courts Down Under with a comeback 7-6(9), 7-6(5) victory over Ukrainian qualifier Anhelina Kalinina.
Azarenka trailed 1-5 and fended off five set points in the opening set before she went on to triumph.
Her second-round opponent, Chinese 20-year-old Zheng Qinwen, survived a struggle of her own, saving match point against sixth seed Anett Kontaveit 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(7) to book the fist-time encounter.