Jabeur becomes first Arab winner at Mubadala World Tennis Championship

Ons Jabeur became the first Arab national to win the Mubadala World Tennis Championship.

Jabeur rode strong support in Abu Dhabi as she beat Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic at the exhibition Mubadala event in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

The Tunisian played brilliantly with a fantastic jumping backhand that turned into a mild drop shot, the highlight of a first set that ultimately went 6-4 in Bencic's favour.

But Jabeur bounced back with a clever lob, a highlight of a second set she took 6-3 to force a first to 10 point tie-breaker to decide the game.

Jabeur took a commanding lead in the tie-breaker before Bencic almost found a way back, but a shot hit long gave Jabeur the victory in a match that lasted 82 minutes.