Ons Jabeur said she hoped for more noisy local support after setting up a box office quarter-final against top seed and defending champion Elena Rybakina at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open.
Jabeur outgunned 17-year-old qualifier Sonobe Wakana 6-3, 6-3 to earn a showdown with the 25-year-old Kazakh Rybakina at the International Tennis Centre at Zayed Sports City on Thursday.
“It's going to be a very tough match, definitely an entertaining one, so please come watch us. It's going to be a great match from both of us. Maybe 80 per cent for me, 20 per cent for her, cheering,” said Jabeur after her second-round win.
“I know she loves playing here on this court. I'm just trying to do my best and try to focus on myself and what I can do better. She's an unbelievable player. She has a great serve and hits really hard.”
Jabeur, 30, wasn’t tested by Wakana quite as she was in her first-round match against Jelena Ostapenko, but the Japanese teenager still managed to give a good account of herself against the Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist.
“I think every match is different. I think my emotions are always tougher playing someone that is hard like [Ostapenko] to show who I really am, and not get my stress or whatever gets in the way,” Jabeur said. “And yes, today I felt [good] again, and I feel really good even though I am playing someone that is young.
“[Wakana] is still young and playing that way. I'm sure she will gain more experience and know how to win in a certain situation."
Earlier, Rybakina rallied from a set down to defeat Katie Volynets to book her spot in the last eight. The Kazakh dropped the opening set to the American but bounced back to clinch the next two and the match 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 to set up a showdown with Jabeur.
“It was a really tough match and happy that I managed to win,” the Russian-born Kazakh said in her post-match interview. “I was struggling a bit with opportunities in the first set, but overall happy to get through because that first set was very challenging, very close in the second as well.
“I was just trying to focus on each point because the conditions are quite slow, so I cannot really hit a winner. I knew that the rallies are going to be difficult, and I was just trying to focus on myself."
Belinda Bencic breezed into the last eight with a crushing 6-0, 6-0 victory over Veronika Kudermetova in the opening game of the day.
“I was expecting a tough match. I think Veronika is a tough opponent. So, I was surprised, but also, I felt like some games, especially in the start, were hard fought. It wasn't as one way as the score suggests,” Bencic said.
The 2023 winner of the Abu Dhabi Open and gold medallist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Bencic is improving with every game since returning to the circuit from maternity leave in October.
“I'm so happy to play here again,” she added. “I have great memories and Abu Dhabi was on my schedule for this year. So, I'm very happy that I could play here and for the support from the fans.”
Bencic will meet Marketa Vondrousova, who came through with a straight sets 6-2, 6-3 victory over the fourth seed Yulia Putintseva.
Thursday's quarter-finals (from 1pm)
M. Vondrousova v B. Bencic
L. Fernandez (8) v A. Krueger
E. Rybakina (1) v O. Jabeur
M. Linette v L. Noskova
