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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 28, 2020

Ons Jabeur

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

S. KENIN/O. Jabeur

6-4, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How did you feel on court today?
ONS JABEUR: Mostly I was a little bit tired. She's such an unbelievable player. I had to run to every ball. She didn't give any free points. Not a lot of mistakes, which it was tough.

But I think that's what quarterfinals are like in Grand Slams. Really wish that I could play better. I mean, I'm happy with the tournament. The good news is that I have so much work to do still. Hopefully I can come back stronger and be able to do better next time.

Q. What makes her so tough? What are her attributes or strengths as a player?
ONS JABEUR: She hits the corners really good, which is really tough sometimes to return some balls. She can mix it up a little bit. She's there, everywhere, makes it tough for me to handle the game.

But I think maybe my forehand and especially my backhand wasn't here today. I couldn't bother her more. At the good points, like when I have a break or something, she's really present there. She didn't leave me any choice to win the breakpoint.

I think, yeah, she had a really good match today. Wish her all the best.

Q. Do you think she could win a slam?
ONS JABEUR: Yeah, why not? It depends. You have Kvitova or Barty after, so it's going to be a tough match. But you never know.

She can play differently against me. Each day is different. Now she has a day off. She's probably watching right now.

But I hope she can do good.

Q. What do you think is the biggest takeaway from this whole two weeks?
ONS JABEUR: I think I proved that I can be in the quarterfinals in a Grand Slam, even if I have, like, a lot of things to improve probably physically and mentally some stuff, for sure.

But I'm happy that I pushed through a lot of things. I proved to myself that I could do a lot of great things. I'm happy that I played this way. I know sometimes I'm hard on myself, but I think I could do better, especially with the moments where it's kind of tough and stressful.

I think with more experience, I will be able to handle the pressure better, yeah. That's it.

Q. 10-minute game in the second set.
ONS JABEUR: It was 10 minutes? I didn't even look. When she was serving?

Q. Yes. You had three breakpoints. How did you handle that? How difficult is it the next game? You went Love-40 after that.
ONS JABEUR: It was really difficult. Especially like three or four points in a row was only rallies. I was running everywhere like crazy. I think last year I couldn't do that. I'm happy with the way I improved physically.

I mean, I have no regrets that game. I actually played every shot. I tried to be aggressive. Good job for her. She did really good job there.

The sun was bothering me a little bit. I couldn't really serve. Plus new balls, it was difficult for me, especially after running, kind of tough. That was I think the key game because I came back from Love-40, could have actually done better, I think.

Q. Since coming to this tournament to now where you made the quarters, do you think your expectations of yourself has changed?
ONS JABEUR: Well, to be honest, even if I didn't go to the quarters, I was also looking to myself to win a Grand Slam even before. But now I think I'm more close. I think I can believe more in my dream.

Like I said before, I set up big goals in my mind. Like I'm ready, I'm going full. I think it could be a good start of the year to really believe in things, especially be ready to win big tournaments.

Q. Have you heard much from Tunisia and the reaction there to your run?
ONS JABEUR: I heard a lot from Tunisia actually. My phone is still going crazy right now. I actually talked to the president of Tunisia. He called me. He wished me good luck. That was really nice of him. I talked to a lot of political in Tunisia. They called me also.

Everyone is crazy. A lot of people are calling and wishing me good luck. Still actually receiving really good messages that they are proud. Maybe they're waiting for me, I don't know.

Q. When Venus Williams won the US Open, she spoke with President Clinton and asked him to lower taxes. Did you give any political advice or make any requests to the politicians?
ONS JABEUR: I don't know, maybe lowering the tax would be a good idea also. I don't want to get into politic a lot because I'm probably not good at it.

I mean, the only thing I wish is Tunisia to be better, safer. I'm enjoying being a Tunisian. I'm proud to be a Tunisian. I'm happy with what my country achieved.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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