Morocco’s historic run to the semifinal has surely been one of the most exciting stories of this FIFA World Cup. The Atlas Lions managed to produce a string of upsets when they defeated Belgium in group stages and Spain and Portugal in subsequent rounds on their route to the final four.
Ons Jabeur, current World Number 2 recently reacted to this historic feat. The Tunisian star has hailed the team’s spirit and relates to the coach Walid Regragui’s mentality. That’s not all, the Wimbledon finalist, who is a Ronaldo fan, shared how she was trying to be neutral while watching the match.
“It’s unbelievable. It’s so great to see them doing so well. In their quarterfinal against Portugal, you know my heart was with Cristiano (Ronaldo) a little bit, but with Morocco, too. I was trying to be neutral, but Morocco always wins. For me, my heart was with Morocco.” Ons Jabeur told the Arab News.
The tennis player further went on to praise the Moroccan coach’s determination and explained how she relates to his philosophy. She noted “They’ve done a great job, they seemed so focused and I’m not surprised. I know Morocco has done a lot of great things from before and I like listening to their coach.“
Continuing her train of thought, she further added, “It’s really amazing to see how determined he is. He said a lot of amazing things that I’ve been kind of saying from before about the Tunisian team. We share the same philosophy, like, ‘Stop you guys, it’s not about the color of your skin, where you come from or whatever; it’s about confidence, if you know you can do it then you will do it.’
Jabeur further praised the Moroccan coach as he spoke to journalists who had doubts about his selection as a coach.
“So that really touched me, the way that he speaks. I like how he also spoke to some Moroccan journalists who didn’t believe in him, they didn’t even name him as a coach. It’s nice he spoke to them so now they can realize and they can start to believe even in more in their team.”
Ons Jabeur wins the Mubadala World Tennis Championship
Ons Jabeur has already set the tone for the 2023 season. The Tunisian ace commenced the season by defending her Mubadala World Tennis Championship title defeating Emma Raducanu in the title match at the International Tennis Centre, Zayed Sports City.
Jabeur edged past the Brit sensation with a 5-7, 6-3, (10)-(8) victory, and in doing so she becomes the first woman to successfully defend her MWTC title after becoming the first Arab player to win it in the last edition. Jabeur, who has been working hard in the preseason in Abu Dhabi will fly to Adelaide to begin her official season at the Adelaide International 1 tournament.
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