Herve Renard's arrival as France coach has made Les Bleues think they are "the best in the world" and fostered belief in their chances of winning the Women's World Cup, says Selma Bacha.
Renard, who oversaw Saudi Arabia's incredible win over eventual champions Argentina at the men's World Cup last year, took the reins in March following the dismissal of Corinne Diacre.
The French Football Federation removed Diacre from the role after a group of players – including captain Wendie Renard – refused to represent the team if she remained in charge.
With France gearing up to face Jamaica in their Group F opener in Sydney on July 23, Lyon star Bacha has been impressed by Renard's impact, telling Stats Perform: "He put us in a good mood.
"He made us realise that we were the best in the world, that we had great, great potential and that he was coming in with a game plan.
"Everyone understands this game plan, so when everyone understands, we're all in the same boat.
"Frankly, I'm ready to die for this coach, this staff, and I hope that my soldiers – in other words, my team-mates – are ready."
France suffered a semi-final exit against Germany at least year's European Championships in England, but Bacha is confident they can improve on that showing in Australia and New Zealand.
Asked if she believed France could win the tournament, Bacha said: "Frankly, yes, I do. Once again, it's all very well to talk, but now we have to act.
"It's all very well to say, 'we believe in it', but now we have to act. Right now, the group is top notch, we're living well and we know that we want this title that France so desperately needs."
Having represented France since 2021, Bacha is relishing the prospect of making her first World Cup appearance later this month.
"It's a dream, a childhood dream," she said. "I never thought I'd experience this kind of moment. I'd been to the Euros, but a World Cup is still a World Cup.
"I'm very proud because I know I've worked hard to get here and I still have room for improvement, as the coach says. But in any case, it's a dream come true.
"I'm really happy because I never thought things would progress so quickly, and then, I'm someone who listens a lot. When someone comes to give me advice, I listen carefully. I'm very proud of that.
"I know that I still have room for improvement and I have very high goals, but I know I'll get there. For the moment, I'm very happy with the start of my career."
Pello Bilbao pointed to the sky in memory of his late team-mate Gino Mader as he celebrated his first career Tour de France stage win in Issoire on Tuesday.
Bilbao triumphed from a breakaway, a first Spanish stage win in five years, sparking emotional scenes less than a month after Mader died following a high-speed crash at the Tour de Suisse.
The pair were close friends, with Mader even having adopted a stray dog from the city of Bilbao and naming him Pello. In his podium interview, the Basque rider said the memory of Mader was “the only reason” for his win.
“It was hard to prepare the last two weeks with him in mind, but staying with my family at home helped me a lot, just to keep calm, be positive and put all my positive energy to try to do something nice in the Tour,” he said.
“I wanted to do it in the first Basque stages, that was so special for me but it was not possible so I just waited for my moment.
“I was maybe thinking my position in the overall was going to be a problem but I decided to a make an all-in move and in the end it was the right movement.
“My first victory in the Tour in 13 years as a pro is such a special moment for me.”
It was also an expensive one. Following Mader’s death, Bilbao had pledged to replicate the Swiss rider’s charitable gesture – donating one euro to environmental causes for every rider he finishes ahead of on each stage, also promising to double the donation if he won a stage.
Bilbao had already run up a bill of more than 1,200 euros in the opening week and will not mind having cost himself much more with a victory which also propelled him up the general classification to fifth, four and a half minutes behind Jonas Vingegaard who still leads by 17 seconds from Tadej Pogacar.
The 167km stage from Vulcania through the Massif Central looked custom-designed for a breakaway as racing resumed in sweltering temperatures after Monday’s rest day, but things were never so simple on a day when the attacks raged from the start to the finish.
Vingegaard and Pogacar were both involved in some of the early moves, splitting the main peloton, before 14 riders eventually got away.
But it was only occasionally a cohesive group. Krists Neilands launched an attack at the foot of the final climb and crested it with an advantage of 30 seconds, but that tumbled on the descent towards town and he was caught by a chasing group of five with three kilometres left.
Bilbao felt confident he was the fastest and let Zimmerman move to the front before launching his sprint with a couple of hundred metres left.
“With cold blood I let Zimmerman make his sprint and I went on the wheel, then it was just full gas for the last 200 metres thinking of nothing,” he said. “I crossed the line and I just put out all the energy inside of me and remembered the reason for this victory, a special one – for Gino.”
The main peloton came to the line a little under three minutes later with no change in the top four in the standings, while Bilbao jumped up six places with Adam Yates, Simon Yates and Tom Pidcock now sixth, seventh and eighth overall respectively.
Mark Cavendish is due to have surgery on his broken right collarbone on Wednesday after being forced out of the Tour by a crash on Saturday.
The 38-year-old has previously announced his intention to retire at the end of the season but has been offered a one-year contract extension by Astana-Qazaqstan.
Martina Hingis is the latest leading figure in tennis to question Emma Raducanu’s career management and she believes the former US Open champion will find it tough on her return to the sport.
Raducanu has had to sit out this year’s Wimbledon after undergoing operations on both wrists and one ankle and is not expected to be back until the autumn.
It has been a rollercoaster ride for the 20-year-old since her incredible victory in New York nearly two years ago, with intense scrutiny on her on and off-court decisions.
View this post on InstagramThe one that has caused most head-scratching was Raducanu’s decision to part ways with coach Andrew Richardson straight after the US Open, and she has not managed to find a consistent voice since.
Former world number one Hingis won five grand slam singles titles as a teenager, and she said: “If you have the right surroundings, I think that’s also really important.
“I never met her so I don’t know exactly what goes through the head. It’s incredible she was able to win the US Open and, all of the changes after that, I don’t think it was a great choice to do.
“When you win with someone, you usually continue, but I can’t judge what happened. It would be nice for her to find the way and to find her success again.
“She’s got the shots, she’s the whole package, but you still need the results. It’s not like one day you win the US Open and then that’s the rest of the life.”
Raducanu will be ranked well outside the top 100 when she returns and, while she will not be short of wild card offers to get into the big tournaments, Hingis feels she faces an uphill battle.
“There’s so many girls out there that can play well who are hungry,” said the Swiss. “I hope the best for her but it won’t be easy.”
Hingis, champion at Wimbledon in 1997 as a 16-year-old, is back at the All England Club to play in the invitational doubles.
She enjoyed watching the run of Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva, who reached the fourth round as a qualifier before falling to Madison Keys.
“It’s great to see a 16-year-old doing so well,” said Hingis. “I like her game. It’s nice to watch and also for the people to see someone like this, it’s still possible being young and doing well.
“She’s very disciplined, she’s got all the shots. Sometimes she’s quite far behind (the baseline), I would like to see her being a bit more aggressive, but she doesn’t miss. She’s like a wall.
“It’s hard to get through her but it’s something she can maybe improve in the future to take more charge and attack when she has the chance to do it.”
Andreeva had an unfortunate end to her tournament, receiving a point penalty for throwing her racket that gave Keys match point.
“I did that too,” said Hingis. “You want to win, you want to play well. It can happen.
“When you’re young you have your emotions. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes bad. As long as nothing dangerous happens. Of course you’re supposed to control your emotions but she’s 16, she’s a kid still.”
Stuart Kettlewell feels Motherwell’s final pre-season match against Dundee United has left the Fir Park outfit in confident mood ahead of the opening game of the new campaign on Saturday.
A goal from new signing Conor Wilkinson gave Well a 1-0 win over Championship side Dundee United in a behind-closed-doors game at Tannadice.
The Steelmen begin the 2023-24 campaign with a trip to Elgin City in the Viaplay Cup at the weekend and buoyant boss Kettlewell told Motherwell’s official Twitter account: “It was good to get here and almost play a proper game, it gets us closer to what we want.
“In terms of performance level, we were stages up from where we were on Saturday (2-2 draw with Falkirk) and that’s pleasing.
“I thought we looked fitter, I thought we looked stronger, I thought our organisation against the ball was really good.
“And then we started to create chances and we started to play some of the football I believe we can so that gives me a great deal of confidence and I think it gives the players a degree of confidence going into Saturday.
“You’re always trying to see if you can go up to playing against a good side before you’ve got competitive action, just simply to take the levels up.
“Today for me didn’t really feel like a pre-season friendly. I thought it was a competitive match.
“Dundee United have good players, we’ve seen that last season albeit they will be a little bit disappointed by the relegation.
“But yeah, it definitely took us to a stage in a game where there was serious questions asked of us and we had to be good in every facet of what we do.”
Pello Bilbao took his first career Tour de France stage win from a breakaway in Issoire and dedicated the victory to his late team-mate Gino Mader.
Bilbao beat Georg Zimmermann to the line as six riders made it to the finish to contest the stage win, sparking emotional scenes as he and his Bahrain Victorious team remembered Mader, who died aged 26 following a high-speed crash at the Tour de Suisse last month.
The main peloton came to the line a little under three minutes later with Jonas Vingegaard retaining the yellow jersey and his 17-second advantage over Tadej Pogacar, but Bilbao’s win saw him move up to fifth overall.
Following Mader’s death, Bilbao had pledged to replicate the Swiss rider’s charitable gesture – donating one euro to environmental causes for every rider he finishes ahead of on each stage, also promising to double the donation if he won the stage.
And in his podium interview, the Basque rider said the memory of Mader was “the only reason” for his win.
He said: “It was hard to prepare the last two weeks with him in mind, but staying with my family at home helped me a lot, just to keep calm, be positive and put all my positive energy to try to do something nice in the Tour.
“I wanted to do it in the first Basque stages, that was so special for me but it was not possible so I just waited for my moment. I was maybe thinking my position in the overall was going to be a problem but I decided to make an all-in move and in the end it was the right movement.
“My first victory in the Tour in 13 years as a pro is such a special moment for me.”
The 167km stage from Vulcania through the Massif Central looked custom-designed for a breakaway, but things were never so simple on a day when the attacks raged from the start to the finish.
Vingegaard and Pogacar were both involved in some of the early moves, splitting the main peloton, before 14 riders eventually got away.
But it was only occasionally a cohesive group. Krists Neilands launched an attack at the foot of the final climb and crested it with an advantage of 30 seconds, but that tumbled on the descent towards town and he was caught by a chasing group of five with three kilometres left.
Bilbao felt confident he was the fastest and let Zimmerman move to the front before launching his sprint with a couple of hundred metres left.
“With cold blood I let Zimmermann make his sprint and I went on the wheel, then it was just full gas for the last 200 metres thinking of nothing,” he said.
“I crossed the line and I just put out all the energy inside of me and remembered the reason for this victory, a special one – for Gino.”
Elina Svitolina claimed the mother of all victories by knocking out world number one Iga Swiatek to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals.
The unseeded Ukrainian, who only gave birth to her daughter Skai nine months ago, ousted top seed Swiatek with a dramatic 7-5 6-7 (5) 6-2 victory on Centre Court.
Swiatek, just as she had in her previous match against Belinda Bencic, came from a set down to draw level and seemed to have snatched the momentum.
But with Jeremy Clarkson watching from the crowd, Svitolina found top gear just when she needed it to secure a famous victory.
“I don’t know what is happening right now, it’s really unbelievable,” Svitolina, also a semi-finalist here in 2019, said.
“I’m really, really happy that I got this chance to play here again. I was fighting, it was not easy. Iga is world number one and always fighting. It was an unbelievable match and I’m really happy I could win this one.”
Swiatek looked dialled in from the start this time, breaking the Svitolina serve in the opening game.
But as she served for the set, the 22-year-old from Warsaw gifted Svitolina a break back to love with an uncharacteristically sloppy game, topped off with a double-fault.
Swiatek was rattled and Svitolina began finding her range, punishing a second serve to bring up two set points and edging in front when Swiatek’s backhand floated long.
A slight delay as the roof was closed gave Swiatek a chance to regroup but a hold to love at the start of the second set meant Svitolina had won 10 of the previous 12 points.
However, nerves started to kick in when, at 40-0, Svitolina missed the simplest of volleys at the net and then double-faulted, allowing Swiatek to break.
Swiatek then got a dose of the jitters herself, a double-fault giving Svitolina two break points and a long forehand levelling the set at 3-3.
Svitolina dug out a second ace of the match to go 4-1 ahead in the tie-break but Swiatek reeled her back in with a couple of rasping forehands which clipped the line and an exquisite backhand winner.
But Svitolina came again, breaking the reigning French and US Open champion twice to lead 4-1 in the decider.
Two more aces made it 5-1 and despite some late resistance from the Pole Svitolina came through, covering her mouth with her hand in utter shock when Swiatek hit the net on match point.
Swiatek has been a huge supporter of the Ukrainian cause following the Russian invasion and wears a blue and yellow ribbon in her cap.
Svitolina, whose emotional win over Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the fourth round was one of the matches of the tournament, added: “Iga is not only a great champion but an unbelievable person.
“She was one of the first who really helped the Ukrainian people, she was a huge help. So for sure it’s not easy to play someone that you share a lot of good moments. Not easy for her either but I’m really proud I could win this one.”
England’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine in September will be played in the Polish city of Wroclaw.
Gareth Southgate’s men have enjoyed a 100 per cent start to European Championship qualification, with four wins from their four Group C matches.
England’s next qualifier is on September 9 away to Ukraine, who have been forced to host matches away from their homeland since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
The Ukrainian Association of Football has confirmed that the match will be held in Poland at the 45,000-capacity Tarczynski Arena in Wroclaw.
They held last year’s Nations League games in Poland – two in Lodz, one in Krakow – and played June’s match at home to Malta in Trnava, Slovakia.
The Austrian cities of Vienna and Klagenfurt had been reportedly considered as host cities for the match against England.
Ellen White will be sad to see several talented Spain players miss the Women's World Cup over a dispute with the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and head coach Jorge Vilda.
Last September, 15 Spain players pledged to resign from the national team unless Vilda was dismissed, claiming his tenure was having a negative impact on their "emotional state".
The RFEF stood by Vilda, who has coached La Roja since 2015 but has failed to take the side beyond the last eight of three major tournaments, and just three of the players involved in the dispute have made the trip to Australia and New Zealand.
Barcelona duo Mariona Caldentey and Aitana Bonmati – as well as Manchester United's Ona Batlle – have been recalled by Vilda, but 12 others remain frozen out.
Speaking at the launch of Pixel FC, a collective of dedicated women's football creators helping to close the visibility gap within women's football, White lamented their absence and said players' conditions need to be discussed.
"I think it's important to have those conversations," England's record goalscorer said. "I can't say what side [I would be on] because I'm not 100 per cent sure on everything, but I think it's really important.
"To be honest, it's really sad that we haven't got some of the best players in the world playing for their nation because of a number of different reasons.
"I think that's really sad. In the World Cup, you should see the best players on show, so I feel really disappointed and sad for them.
"I'm hoping that as time goes on and the conversations are had, those grievances are heard and they are able to continue to play for their country in the manner in which they want to."
France were also impacted by a player revolt earlier this year, with the withdrawal of captain Wendie Renard influential in Les Bleues' decision to part company with coach Corrine Diacre.
Former Saudi Arabia boss Herve Renard has since taken over and recalled the Lyon defender, and White hopes that move has had the desired effect on France's squad.
"Well, obviously, they've now brought in the new manager, so I'm hoping that's galvanised the squad and brought more excitement," she said.
"These conversations need to happen for change to happen, and I'm hoping that they keep pushing for the change that they want.
"But the new manager has come in, and the players that originally said they wouldn't join the squad have now rejoined the squad, so I'm hoping it's moving in the right direction.
"I can't speak for the players, but I'm hoping that they feel comfortable enough to play for their nation and the conversations are really important to have."
Tyson Fury has announced a clash against mixed martial arts fighter Francis Ngannou in a boxing contest on October 28 in Saudi Arabia – but the Briton’s WBC heavyweight title will not be at stake.
Fury most recently fought last December, stopping compatriot Derek Chisora inside 10 rounds, but talks over an undisputed world title showdown against Oleksandr Usyk bitterly broke down earlier this year.
While Usyk defends his WBA, IBF and WBO crowns against Fury’s promotional stablemate Daniel Dubois next month, his fellow world champion will go up against someone who has no professional record in boxing.
Ngannou, however, built a reputation as a formidable puncher on his way to becoming UFC heavyweight champion, a title he held until acrimoniously departing the company in January.
A crossover bout has been mooted for some time but while the PA news agency understands Fury will not be defending his world title, his camp have insisted this will not be an exhibition.
There will be three ringside judges present and the 10-point must system – the scoring criteria used in all official boxing bouts – is being implemented, although it is unclear how many rounds are scheduled.
“This guy is supposed to be the hardest puncher in the world, but let’s see how he reacts when he gets hit by the Big GK,” Fury said.
“I can’t wait to get back out there. I’m looking forward to showing the world that The Gypsy King is the greatest fighter of his generation in an epic battle with another master of his craft.
“There is no one tougher than me, and you’ll all see that in devastating fashion on October 28.”
Two appeals concerning the finish of the Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh have both been dismissed by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board.
The Group One contest produced a messy conclusion as the George Boughey-trained winner Via Sistina drifted across the track in the final furlong, impeding the placed horses in winning by two lengths under Jamie Spencer.
Ben and Sir Martyn Arbib, who own Hughie Morrison’s second-placed Stay Alert, appealed against the raceday stewards’ decision not to revise the placings, but the IHRB dismissed that claim.
Spencer was given a six-day ban for his ride, with the jockey asking the IHRB appeals panel to reconsider the severity of the suspension.
However, that was also dismissed with Spencer ruled out on July 15, 17-20 and 22.
The suspension means he misses the ride aboard Khaadem in Saturday’s July Cup, with Rob Hornby booked to ride the 80-1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes winner at Newmarket instead.
Daniel Ricciardo will make a shock return to Formula One at the Hungarian Grand Prix a week on Sunday.
The eight-time grand prix winner, who was axed by McLaren at the end of last year, will replace Nyck de Vries at Red Bull’s junior team AlphaTauri for the rest of the year.
Rookie De Vries was hired by AlphaTauri at the beginning of this season but he has been dropped after only 10 races, paving the way for Ricciardo’s sudden comeback.
The 34-year-old Ricciardo’s career looked to be all but over after he was deemed surplus to requirements by McLaren following two underwhelming seasons with the British team.
Ricciardo failed to land a seat for the 2023 campaign and instead elected to return to Red Bull – the team at which he won seven grands prix – as a reserve driver.
Ricciardo got his first taste of this season’s Red Bull during a tyre test at Silverstone on Tuesday – 48 hours after the British Grand Prix in which De Vries finished 17th and last.
Given Sergio Perez’s torrid run of form, which has seen him fall 99 points adrift of team-mate Max Verstappen in the world championship, AlphaTauri’s move to hire Ricciardo will fuel speculation that the Australian could land a seat back at Red Bull.
“I’m stoked to be back on track with the Red Bull family,” said Ricciardo.
AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost said: “I’m very pleased to welcome Daniel back into the team.
“There’s no doubt about his driving skill, and he already knows many of us, so his integration will be easy and straightforward.
“The team will also profit a lot from his experience, as he is an eight-time Formula One grand prix winner.
“I would like to thank Nyck for his valuable contribution during his time with Scuderia AlphaTauri, and I wish him all the best for the future.”
Ricciardo started his F1 career with HRT Racing in 2011 before he joined AlphaTauri, then called Toro Rosso, in 2012. Ricciardo was promoted to Red Bull two years later – winning three times and out-scoring four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.
The Australian took a surprise decision to join Renault in 2019, but after two years with the French team – claiming two podium finishes – he switched to McLaren. However, bar victory at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, Ricciardo underperformed and was replaced by countryman Oscar Piastri.
However, Ricciardo has been at a number of races this season and is regarded as one of the grid’s most popular drivers, particularly in America where the sport is booming thanks to the success of Netflix’s Drive to Survive series.
For De Vries, 28, the writing appeared to be on the wall after ruthless Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko recently said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was right to have questioned why he was signed.
The Dutch driver crashed on multiple occasions and failed to score a single point with a best finish of 12th at the Monaco Grand Prix in May.
Home favourites Richie Ramsay and Robert MacIntyre are relishing the chance to make immediate amends for a missed opportunity in a star-studded Genesis Scottish Open.
The Scottish pair were both in contention to win in Denmark last week, with Ramsay finishing a shot outside the eventual play-off after hitting his approach to the last into the water and making a double bogey.
MacIntyre held a two-shot lead at the turn but ran up a triple-bogey seven on the 13th after failing to move his second shot from waist-high rough and then having to take a penalty drop.
But after sharing a car to the airport on Sunday evening, MacIntyre and Ramsay were also singing from the same hymn-sheet in terms of focusing on the positives ahead of a £7million event on home soil which boasts eight of the world’s top 10.
“The past week was probably the best golf I’ve played in a long, long time,” MacIntyre said at the Renaissance Club.
“I had so much control of the golf ball. For 71 holes I was in absolute cruise control. When I sit back and look at it, for the first 12 holes (on Sunday) I played golf perfectly. I didn’t put a foot wrong.
“On 13 I hit a good shot, flushed it, but just pulled it 10 yards. My natural shape is a draw and with the wind off the left, it was curving the wrong direction.
“But my head’s in a good place. I feel like you’ve got to take a couple of punches before you can hold a trophy. OK we had such a good chance to win, but it was all preparation for these two weeks.
“I shared a car with Richie going to the airport on Sunday night and he was on the phone speaking to his family and friends, I was getting phone calls from my manager and I was hanging up.
“I wasn’t speaking to anybody, I wasn’t in the right frame of mind. Richie has been out here a lot longer than me. He was a bit calm and chatting away. Once he was on the phone calls, I sat in a huff in the front seat.
“I was sitting there in absolute silence thinking to myself, ‘What just went wrong? Why has it went wrong?’… But I’m here now and last week is last week.
“Once I spoke to people they just assured me that’s not going to be the last hiccup I’m going to have on the journey. It’s going to happen again. But if you keep putting yourself in positions like Kenya, Korea, last week, I can’t not lift a trophy at some point.
“I was one step shy last week and what better time to correct the wrong than one of these next two (Scottish Open or Open Championship)?”
Ramsay, who also double-bogeyed the 72nd hole of last year’s British Masters at The Belfry when needing a par to claim the clubhouse lead, promised to keep “shooting for the stars” when in contention.
“It hurt to lose,” Ramsay said. “Ever since I was a little kid I hate losing but it’s part and parcel of the journey these days and only makes you stronger and more determined to get a win.
“I spoke to my brother this morning and he said you’d have a problem if you weren’t putting yourself in that position and I took that on board and realised that the problem is not that I hit a bad shot at the wrong time, the problem would be if I wasn’t putting myself in that position.
“I mean, I was annoyed I didn’t win but for me, I didn’t do anything wrong. The shot I hit at The Belfry was because I was indecisive. I didn’t make a clear decision and that’s on me.
“That’s why it hurt a lot more but on this one last week, my viewpoint is that you’ve got to hit a great shot down the stretch to win a tournament.
“There’s an opportunity here. If you don’t take it, you’re going to regret it. I don’t regret taking it, because if I pulled it off, I feel that I left myself in a good position to get up and down or two-putt, and you win a tournament.
“You kind of shoot for the stars and I will hit one of those stars again sooner or later.”
World number four Jessica Pegula crashed out of Wimbledon after an untimely suspension of play helped shift the momentum in her surprise quarter-final defeat to Marketa Vondrousova.
The American looked poised to progress to the maiden grand slam singles semi-final of her career having overturned a one-set deficit to lead 3-1 in the decider.
But, due to forecasted rain, the contest was halted for around 23 minutes to allow the roof on Court One to be closed and 2019 French Open finalist Vondrousova returned to win five of the next six games to progress 6-4 2-6 6-4.
The Czech world number 42, who is enjoying her best run at the All England Club, will take on either world number one Iga Swiatek or Elina Svitolina for a place in the final.
“I don’t know what happened,” she said. “It’s an amazing feeling, I cannot believe it.”
Asked how much closing the roof helped her, she replied: “A lot actually. I never played on court number one under the roof. It’s amazing.
“I just wanted to stay as long as I could and I fought until the end. She was pushing me to the edge so I am just so proud of my game.”
Ons Jabeur has vowed to stick to her plan as she targets Wimbledon revenge over Elena Rybakina.
The pair meet in the quarter-final on Wednesday in a rematch of last year’s final where Jabeur’s heart was broken by a three-set defeat.
The Tunisian has come back 12 months later and looked every inch a possible champion as she has coasted into the last eight.
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She knows this is a step up in quality and accepts she will have to do things she does not enjoy against Rybakina.
The sixth seed said: “My priority is really to stick 100 per cent to the plan that my coach will give me, and try to even do things that I might not like on the court, play more freely, just think about each point and not the results.
“I think you have a plan tactically, mentally also. Sometimes playing someone like Elena, who serves really well, it can be frustrating.
“Me, I would get angry, but I’ll try to accept the fact that she serves so good and try to return good and see what I can do there.”
Jabeur admits that it took her a couple of weeks to get over last year’s final but takes a holistic view of the defeat.
“I think the first one or two weeks I thought about it a lot,” she said.
“It was very painful. The good thing about it is I know I gave it everything.
“I’m someone that believes that it wasn’t meant to be, so I cannot force it more than it should be.
“I’m glad that I have this belief. I believe in destiny. It wasn’t supposed to be that year.
“Maybe greater things are coming after that final. I definitely will learn a lot from it.
“Obviously the next match is completely different. It’s a quarter-final. It’s a completely different position. I’m going to do my best.
“The most important thing is that I give 100 per cent and I try not to regret anything.”
Rybakina has barely broken sweat on her way to the last eight, though did admit she felt nervous at the start of the competition.
She is now through that and wants to continue in calmer waters.
“Now I’m feeling much better and more confident coming and playing on Centre Court,” she said. “It is different from the first round.
“I think it was just overall the atmosphere and the nerves to play the first match to get used to the grass, just to play some matches here.
“I think now mentally I’m much better. Physically also good now. Yeah, hopefully I just continue like this.”
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