MY ACCOUNT
Serena Williams lauded her doubles partner Ons Jabeur after they advanced to the semi-finals of the Eastbourne International on Wednesday.
Playing in her first tournament since retiring from the opening round of Wimbledon injured last year, Williams acknowledged she was particularly reliant on Jabeur during their 6-2 6-4 success over Shuko Aoyama and Chan Hao-ching.
The 23-time grand slam singles champion opted to only play doubles on the south coast as she gears up for a return to the All England Club.
“I think we played together much better,” said Williams. “Although I thought we played really good together [against Maria Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo on Tuesday] too.
“But Ons really held me up. She was really playing so good. I was looking at her and was like, ‘Wow, this is great.’ It’s good.”
Williams and Jabeur will take on Aleksandra Krunic and Magda Linette for a place in the final.
Jabeur playfully asked the 40-year-old if she would like to play together at the US Open, to which the former world number one responded: “Sign me up!”
The Tunisian added: “I’m getting used to this. It was really great to play here and I didn’t know we are in the semi-finals. It’s super fast, but it’s great for us.”
