Ons Jabeur has revealed some of the reasons behind her decision to add Fernando Verdasco to her team for the 2024 Madrid Open as the Tunisian described the Spaniard as “a close friend” and cheekily suggested she’d love to learn that Spanish mentality on clay.
Jabeur, the 2022 Madrid champion, kicked off her third appearance at Caja Magica with a 6-4 5-7 6-3 win over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.
But one thing is a bit different in Jabeur’s box this week in Madrid as Jabeur is not accompanied by her full-time coach Issam Jellali, who wasn’t able to attend the tournament. With Jellali unable to make the trip, Jabeur turned to 2009 Australian Open semifinalist and former world No. 7 Verdasco, who retired from pro tennis last year.
“I’m trying to get the Spanish mentality on the clay, apparently it’s not that bad to play with that. We’re close friends and he just had his third baby, so we’re having the energy of a new baby in the team,” Jabeur said.
“It’s nice to have him, I’ve always been a fan of him as a player, but also as a person because he has such amazing energy. He’s helping me this week, so hopefully we can have more matches together.”
