Ons Jabeur notched her first win of this year’s grass-court swing at the Rothesay International on Tuesday.
No.4 seed Jabeur of Tunisia defeated Italy’s Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2 in just 66 minutes at the WTA 500 event. Jabeur picked up her second win in two meetings with 42nd-ranked Paolini, and she moved into the Eastbourne second round for the third time in her career.
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Jabeur started her 2023 grass season last week in Berlin, where she suffered an opening-round loss to Jule Niemeier as the defending champion. But Jabeur got back on track in Eastbourne, winning 86 percent of her first-service points against Paolini.
Last year’s Wimbledon finalist Jabeur is seeking her third career grass-court singles title. Her first WTA singles title came on grass, at 2021 Birmingham, and she added a second grass-court title to her resume last year in Berlin.
Last week’s Birmingham champion Jelena Ostapenko is a possible quarterfinal opponent for Jabeur. Latvia’s Ostapenko kept her winning streak going with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Czech lucky loser Barbora Strycova in the Eastbourne first round.
In a showdown between former Wimbledon semifinalists, 17th-ranked Ostapenko came back from an early break down in the first set to overcome Strycova in 1 hour and 27 minutes, grabbing her sixth straight victory. Ostapenko converted half of her 12 break points on Tuesday.
Highlights: Ostapenko def. Strycova
Ostapenko has now won 10 of her last 11 matches at the Rothesay International. She won the Eastbourne title in 2021 and finished runner-up to Petra Kvitova last year.
Strycova was playing her fourth singles event of the season in her return from maternity leave. Former Top 20 player Strycova had been out of action for over two years before reappearing on tour at Madrid in April.
No.8 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil was also a first-round victor on Tuesday, squeaking past last year’s Wimbledon quarterfinalist Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) in 2 hours and 35 minutes.
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Haddad Maia, who won her first two…