![\"Ons](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/41_2023-638250470814452669-445-696x464.jpg\" "\\"Ons")
There was Andy Murray in 2012, Jana Novotna in 1993 and Roger Federer in 2008.<\/p>\n
Centre Court has seen the highs but this intimate amphitheatre, a cosy living room of a sporting arena, also exposes those crushing lows.<\/p>\n
Like those before her, the raw emotion poured out of Ons Jabeur as she broke into tears \u2013 beaten in the Wimbledon women\u2019s final for the second year in a row.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI will try but this is very, very tough,\u201d the Tunisian said as she stepped up to speak after her 6-4 6-4 defeat by Marketa Vondrousova.<\/p>\n
You could not help but think back to Britain\u2019s Murray, who 11 years earlier stood in the very same spot as he sobbed \u201cI\u2019m going to try this and it\u2019s not going to be easy\u201d.<\/p>\n
Or to Novotna 30 years ago when she cried on the shoulder of the Duchess of Kent \u2013 one of Wimbledon\u2019s most iconic moments. This time Jabeur was comforted by the Princess of Wales.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn\u2019t know if she wants to give me a hug or not,\u201d Jabeur, 28, said. \u201cI told her hugs are always welcome from me.\u201d<\/p>\n
It felt like it was going to be Jabeur\u2019s year.<\/p>\n
She served her time in last year\u2019s final when she took the first set before being beaten by Elena Rybakina. Throughout that run she had had the Venus Rosewater dish as the image on the lockscreen on her phone.<\/p>\n
This year, the lockscreen changed to her niece and nephew, the ghost of Rybakina was banished in the quarter-finals over three tight sets.<\/p>\n
Aryna Sabalenka, this year\u2019s Australian Open winner, was beaten amid a wave of momentum in the semi-finals with Jabeur seemingly on course to become the first African or Arab woman to win a Grand Slam singles title.<\/p>\n
But instead, Jabeur\u2019s old-school style \u2013 she smiles as she crafts points with spins and slice \u2013 was tied up in a straightjacket of nerves.<\/p>\n
Her grip was clenched, her shoulders tight and unseeded Czech Vondrousova won, inflicting Jabeur\u2019s third Grand Slam final defeat in as many attempts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this is the most painful loss of my career,\u201d Jabeur said, who lost the US Open final two months after last year\u2019s Wimbledon disappointment.<\/p>\n
As the words left her mouth, a crowd who had already embraced her held out its arms and pulled her in tight with a cheer.<\/p>\n
Jabeur\u2019s husband, usually her straight-faced fitness trainer, wiped away the tears in the players\u2019 box.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a tough day for me today,\u201d Jabeur said.<\/p>\n
Jabeur sat disconsolate in her seat courtside as Vondrousova paraded the winner\u2019s trophy in front of the flashing cameras.<\/p>\n
Soon Jabeur disappeared for the solace of the locker room. There she cried with four-time Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters, who suffered similar heartbreak on the biggest stage \u2013 losing four finals before winning her first major in 2005.<\/p>\n
Clijsters knows exactly how this feels.<\/p>\n
Ninety minutes after the final point, Jabeur made her way to her news conference with her hood pulled up as she tried to hide her emotion from the world.<\/p>\n
As she crossed the players\u2019 balcony she was spotted by a group of Tunisian fans who proceeded to sing her name.<\/p>\n
Jabeur paused, looked to the sky, and the tears flowed again.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s painful because you feel so close to achieving something that you want, and actually back to square one,\u201d she said, her eyes still red with emotion and a tissue never far away.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t play good. So many things that I should have maybe done. Not serving well did not help. My backhand wasn\u2019t here today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clijsters will be an obvious example for Jabeur to follow.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the toughest part about sport,\u201d the Belgian told BBC Radio 5 Live.<\/p>\n
\u201cOns was the favourite today. She will question why she is overwhelmed with all these negative emotions when she gets to the big stages of a tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the defeats for Murray, Federer and Novotna, the glory also followed for them on the Wimbledon grass.<\/p>\n
Murray went on to win the title a year after his 2012 tears, while Novotna lifted the trophy five years after her loss and Federer went on to win three more after the 2008 defeat by Rafael Nadal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is going to be a tough day today for me. [I am] not going to give up. I will come back stronger and win a Grand Slam one day,\u201d Jabeur said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to thank my team for always believing in me. We are going to make it one day, I promise you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jabeur will hope her Wimbledon story will be the same as the greats before her.<\/p>\n
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