Ons Jabeur qualified for the 3rd round of the French Open to the booing of the French public. The Tunisian challenged the last French representative, Océane Dodin. Africa's top player did not take kindly to the behaviour of the French fans.
Always smiling and teasing, Ons Jabeur is one of the most popular players on the women's circuit. With her seductive game, Ons Jabeur was booed by the crowd on the Philippe Chatrier court at Roland-Garros. The Tunisian beat France's last remaining representative, Océane Dodin, in two sets (6-2, 6-3) in the 2nd round. And the French fans in attendance were not at all kind to Africa's best player. A situation that didn't please the world no. 7 at all. "The French public are a bit difficult. I don't really like it when they go 'boo' and all that. That's part of the game. They want the French to win, that's normal. I would say that in other countries, even if I make a good shot or something like that, they like it. Not necessarily here. They prefer it when I don't do well. Once again, it's part of the game," said the 28-year-old in a statement carried by Le Figaro.
Ons Jabeur even got a few whistles from the crowd when a ball surprised the Frenchwoman after hitting the net. "It's not always the best thing to have these reactions and to be booed even if you hit the net and win the point. It's part of the game. Obviously I didn't want to do it. It was a stroke of luck for me. The most difficult thing is not to get involved with the public because as soon as you react to what they're doing it's going to inflame the situation and that's what happened with other players. For me the key was to concentrate on what I was doing. I can't control what they do and so I concentrated on myself. I knew they were going to try and distract me in every way possible," she added.
Ons Jabeur will be looking to book her place in the last 16. She faces Serbia's Olga Danilovic this Saturday at 15:05 GMT.
