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Ons Jabeur wins the first set 6-3
First set: Jabeur 6-3 Rybakina* (denotes server) Rybakina hits a typical mid-court forehand and starts to look a little frustrated – she double-faults from the next and Jabeur is two points from the first set in 0 -30. Another wild and long forehand takes us to 0-40 and three set points for Jabeur… of which she only needs one! Ons Jabeur enjoys the upper hand. Photo: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian Updated at 14.41 BST First set: Jabeur 5-3 Rybakina* (denotes server) Jabeur serves with new balls and feels emboldened to set the net – Rybakina’s pass attempt is way out. At 30-0 we have a rally, Jabeur’s drop shot forces Rybakina to respond in kind, but she then misses a shot on net. Jabeur, having very little trouble on her serve at the moment, holds at love. First set: Jabeur 4-3 Rybakina (denotes server) Jabeur again holds a return from a Rybakina second serve between the lines and then gets the best of the rally: a real pattern in these opening exchanges, but not a which can repeat in the rest of this game. Rybakina keeps confidence at 15. Elena Rybakina struggles against Tunisia. Photo: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian Updated at 14.36 BST First set: Jabeur 4-2 Rybakina (denotes server) At 30-15 Jabeur makes a rare error and drifts too far with a forehand to go 30-all, but a 110mph serve is a reflection of her power and Rybakina nets from the next so it’s another flurry for the Tunisian. First Set: Jabeur 3-2 Rybakina (denotes server) Jabeur glances back to 15-30 on Rybakina’s serve… but a sweet backhander of two crisp first serves puts Rybakina up 40-30 . Jabeur, though, just doesn’t back down and forces an error again – deuce – and then attacks a swinging second serve to bring up another break point. A wild forehand takes us back to deuce. The Tunisian sends more pieces out of a pizza factory and again Rybakina sticks to bring up another break point… but this time Jabeur makes a fall attempt. And, blessed relief for Rybakina, when her opponent won the net again, she has won hard. First set: Jabeur 3-1 Rybakina (denotes server) Jabeur is now on a run and leads 30-0, taking a punch after every successful point. A fairly remarkable cross-court backhand leaves Rybakina at the net for 40-0 and a crisp serve gives the No 3 seed a routine and confidence. First set: Jabeur 2-1 Rybakina (denotes server) You feel that Jabeur needs to attack on second serves and she does just that here, a powerful backhand that puts her in the game at 15-15. A sloppy forehand from Rybakina goes deep in the next bringing us to 15-30 and a first real pressure point. A delightful backhand from Rybakina at 30, but Jabeur gets the pace of the ball again and draws the error to win a break point at 30-40. And Rybakina, struggling to cope with Jabeur’s variety, is once again way off the mark. We have an early break! Ons Jabeur with the early break. Photo: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian Updated at 2.25pm BST First set: Jabeur 1-1 Rybakina (denotes server) Jabeur starts confidently on her serve and an ace down the middle gives her a 40-15 lead, but a superb forehand down the line from Rybakina shows her ability to return. 40-30… but Rybakina goes out with a backhand and Jaber holds. Ons Jabeur plays a forehand. Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images Updated at 14.16 BST First set: Jabeur 0-1 Rybakina (*denotes server) So here we go. Jabeur won the toss and decided to receive, possibly hoping early nerves would shake Rybakina’s booming serve. There were no signs of early flurries from the Kazakhstani though, with Jabeur only able to get one of his first three serves back in the game. This gives Rybakina a 40-0 lead, but when Jabeur is able to rally, there’s much more to be had for her and she fights back to 40-30 before her opponent gets her on the board. The players come out onto the center field and are greeted by warm cheers. Hot is the word too – it’s hot in London today. Updated at 14.05 BST Ons Jabuer is in the tunnel before and looks quite excited to be just minutes away from the Wimbledon final. She was joined by Elena Rybakina and we don’t have much to wait now. Celeb watch! Cherie Blair, Grayson Perry, Ellie Goulding, Rebel Wilson, Cliff Richard, Dame Maggie Smith and Elaine Paige have all been snapped on their way to Wimbledon today, if you’re into that sort of thing. The Duchess of Cambridge will be there to present the trophy to the winner. Ellie Goulding is looking forward to the match. Photo: John Walton/PA Updated at 2.15pm BST In the first final of the day on No 3 Court, Diede de Groot won for the fourth time in the women’s singles, defeating Yui Kamiji in straight sets.
Some pre-race reading
Here’s Tumaini Carayol’s assessment of what we can expect regularly this afternoon: Here’s Simon Speakman Cordall and Aina J Khan on how Jabeur’s success went down in Tunisia: And if pictures rather than words are your thing, here’s Tom Jenkins’ photo essay on the tournament:
Road to the final
Jabeur didn’t drop a set until the quarterfinals, but needed three sets to beat Marie Bouzkova there and another three to see off Tatjana Maria in the semifinals. Unusually she only faced one seed en route to the final – No 24 Elise Mertens in the fourth round. Rybakina’s run was rather similar – no sets dropped until the quarters (where Ajla Tomljanovic forced her to go the distance) and only one seed faced: No. 16 Simon Halep in the semifinals. A 122mph serve in her fourth round win over Petra Martic tells you where her power lies. Updated at 13.11 BST
Preamble
Good evening to all. Well that must be good. A women’s squad draw that at times – with absences and early exits – threatened to produce a star-less final made for an intriguing performance that has already made history. Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur is the first woman of North African or Arab descent to reach a Grand Slam final and her chance to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish coincides with the celebration of Eid al-Adha. Her opponent Elena Rybakina, meanwhile, is also in her first slam final. He chose to represent Kazakhstan four years ago, but was born in Russia and still lives in Moscow. Well, there’s that. So whoever wins the impact is likely to resonate well beyond SW19, for better or worse. As for the tennis itself, we are likely to see an exciting clash of styles, Jabeur’s subtle and varied game coming up against the powerful serve of 6ft Rybakina. The bookies have Jabeur as the odds-on favourite, but I have a feeling it could be very close. The game starts at 2 p.m. BST
