Ons Jabeur celebrates after her match against Camila Osorio at the Lexus Nottingham Tennis Centre on Tuesday. AP

No.1 seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia got her grass-court swing off to a flying start with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Colombia’s Camila Osorio in the first round of the Nottingham Open on Tuesday.

In her debut appearance in Nottingham, World No.10 Jabeur needed just 62 minutes to ease past 81st-ranked Osorio and improve to 4-0 in their head-to-head. This was their first meeting on grass, and their first meeting which was not at a Grand Slam event.

Jabeur will next take on qualifier Linda Fruhvirtova in the second round. It will be the first career meeting between Jabeur and 19-year-old Czech Fruhvirtova, who cracked the Top 50 a year ago and is currently ranked World No.139. Jabeur, a Wimbledon finalist in 2022 and 2023, exhibited her grass-court acumen right from the start on Tuesday. Jabeur breezed through her service games in the first set, dropping only a single point on her delivery.

Osorio made things more complicated in the second set, where she garnered two break points in Jabeur’s opening service game. However, the Tunisian used her all-court play to get through that game and stay on the front foot.

Jabeur took control for good at 3-3, reaching double break point after two consecutive double faults by Osorio. Jabeur converted the break by firing a backhand down the sideline and forcing an error by Osorio. All told, Jabeur won the final four games of the match, converting her first match point after Osorio’s fifth double fault of the day. Jabeur, who was never broken, finished the clash with an 83 percent success rate behind her first serve.

Raducanu downs Shibahara: Emma Raducanu’s decision to skip the French Open to focus on the grass-court circuit paid off in her first outing on the surface, as she romped past qualifier Ena Shibahara in the first round of the Nottingham Open on Tuesday. Raducanu defeated Shibahara 6-1, 6-4 in a 70-minute encounter.

The 22-year-old Raducanu was playing her first match on grass since Wimbledon 2022. This time last year, she was confined to a mobility scooter as she recuperated from multiple wrist and ankle surgeries.

The British player surged to a 6-1, 5-1 lead in dominant fashion before holding off a late charge from Shibahara to close out the win in straight sets.

Former doubles No.4 Shibahara has been shifting her focus to singles this year and has raised her ranking over 250 places since January to its current No.274. She came into this match with a 30-8 record this season, and her serve-and-volley tactics posed a unique challenge for Raducanu.

Agencies