MELBOURNE
\nOns Jabeur said Saturday she is aiming to become world number one in 2023 and \u201cnot lose any more finals\u201d after a breakthrough season when she fell just short of a maiden major crown.
\nThe world number two is on the cusp of Grand Slam glory, having been runner-up at Wimbledon and the US Open last year.
\n\u201cI will try to use that experience from last year because it was kind of tough,\u201d the Tunisian said ahead of the Australian Open, the first major of the year, which begins at Melbourne Park on Monday.
\n\u201cMy goal is to not lose any more finals, but just use that to be ready for the next one.\u201d
\nThe 28-year-old became the first Arab and African woman to reach a Slam final last year and will face Slovenia\u00b4s world number 88 Tamara Zidansek in the first round on Tuesday.
\nJabeur said she would no longer be satisfied with matching her best previous Australian Open performance.
\n\u201cI may not be as happy as I was in 2020 reaching the quarter-final,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cThe goal as second (ranked) in the world is to be in the second week, to make finals.\u201d
\nShe said she was focused on dislodging Poland\u00b4s Iga Swiatek from the top of the rankings and was not afraid to set lofty goals for herself.
\n\u201cI like this kind of pressure,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u00b4m going to put more pressure on myself because I feel like sometimes you just need that to be one of the top players.\u201d
\nLate bloomer Jabeur was 26 when she lifted her maiden WTA title in 2021 at Birmingham, adding Madrid and Berlin trophies last year. She is keen to make up for lost time.
\n\u201cI want to be number one in the world, not just the number but also the level and the discipline around it. I want to win more titles and get that Grand Slam title, for sure,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cI know a lot of players are hungry to do more. It\u00b4s going to be very interesting this two weeks.\u201d
\nJabeur was stunned by rising Czech teenager Linda Noskova in the semi-finals at Adelaide earlier this month, where she needed treatment on a back injury during the first set.
\nBut she allayed any fitness worries, especially after having to miss last year\u00b4s Australian Open with a similar back problem.
\n\u201cIt\u00b4s actually much, much better,\u201d she said. \u201cI just needed a couple of days to be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MELBOURNE Ons Jabeur said Saturday she is aiming to become world number one in 2023 and \u201cnot lose any more finals\u201d after a breakthrough season when she fell just short of a maiden major crown. The world number two is on the cusp of Grand Slam glory, having been runner-up at Wimbledon and the US […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-307616","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n