Coco Gauff and Ons Jabeur have only met on the grass court once. That encounter took place in 2022, with the Tunisian player overcoming her American rival and ending her hopes of reaching a first final on grass. But that match at the Berlin Open is also remembered for an incident that nearly took out Jabeur.

The two rivals are set to face each other in the quarterfinals of the Berlin Ladies Open in a rematch of the semi final from two years ago. Ahead of their clash, the two players reminisced about the incident in a video shared by the tournament’s official Instagram page.

In the video, we first see a clip of their 2022 Berlin Open match. During one of Gauff’s serves, the ball accidentally hit Jabeur and made her fall on court. Thankfully, Jabeur was able to avoid the ball hitting her face and recover to win the match from 3-1 down in the first set.

Watching the video, Jabeur said, “I didn’t have the best reaction, but at least I didn’t have the ball in my face for sure. I mean obviously Coco’s serve is unbelievable.” On being asked “did it hurt?,” Jabeur simply replied, “No. No.”

In the clip, Gauff also shared what was going through her mind when she made the serve, “That was my target. Was to go body, but obviously not to hit her.” 

Despite dropping a hard hit against Ons Jabeur, Gauff still had to accept defeat against the Tunisian WTA star. Jabeur pulled off an amazing 7-6(4) and 6-2 to snatch her entry to the finals against Belinda Bencic, which she eventually won. That year, she reached a career high ranking of number two.

Following her semi final win over Gauff, Jabeur, known for her humorous presence on screen, complimented the American. Defining the US Open 2023 champion’s amazing skills, Jabeur said, “You have to be this good to beat Coco, you know. She’s a great player.” But since then, the fortunes of both players have varied.

Gauff is currently ranked at No.2 in the WTA rankings, while Jabeur sits at 10. Gauff has also added a Grand Slam to her name, while Jabeur is awaiting her first taste of Slam success.

Two years later after her grass court defeat, Gauff returned the praise after she defeated the Tunisian tennis star in the quarterfinals of the Roland Garros tour by 4-6, 6-2, and 6-3. Gauff said, “She was playing really well the whole match, she was hitting a lot of winners against me – which is not something I’m used to with anybody.”

With that win, the head to head between the two players also stands at 5-2 in favor of Gauff. But since their next encounter is on grass, that could give Jabeur a slight edge.

Ons Jabeur has the advantage on grass courts

While Wimbledon was the setting that gave Gauff her breakthrough when she overcame Venus Williams in 2019, aged 15, she has largely failed to impress on grass courts. In fact, her Berlin semi final appearance remains her best performance on the surface. On the other hand, Jabeur twice came close to winning the Wimbledon in 2022 and 2023, finishing as runner-up on both occasions.

In fact, two of Jabeur’s five singles titles have been won on grass court. In addition to the Berlin Open last year, she also won the Birmingham Classic in 2021. Jabeur has the upper hand when it comes to grass as it suits her versatile game. A mix of groundstrokes, delicate drop shots, and effective volleys allow her to put her opponents under pressure with little time for comeback owing to her speed.

Since, grass courts usually reward quick points and creative shot-making, it fits perfectly in her varied gameplay. Jabeur will be hoping more of the same against Gauff in their upcoming quarterfinal match and better a poor head-to-head record and probably stay on her feet while handling Gauff’s powerful serve.