Wimbledon: Battle of first-timers

London: When Ons Jabeur and Elena Rybakina meet in tomorrow’s Wimbledon final it will be the fifth edition running that a first-time women’s champion will go through the wood-panelled revolving-doors of the All England Club. The fast-paced merry-go-round of champions that has become a feature of the women’s game, with Australian holder Ash Barty not even playing anymore, is in stark contrast to the ‘same old, same old’ of the men’s game at Wimbledon for almost two decades. While the Big Four of men’s tennis have become accustomed to setting records pretty much every time they step on court, Saturday’s women’s final will be no less momentous no matter who wins out of Jabeur and Kazakh Rybakina. Third seed Jabeur, Tunisia’s so-called “Minister of Happiness”, will be out to lift the spirits of an entire continent as she targets becoming the first African woman, as well as the first Arab, to win a Grand Slam title. reuters