PARIS: Tunisia鈥檚 Ons Jabeur suffered a shock French Open first round exit on Sunday but admitted: 鈥淢aybe it was good to lose.鈥�
The sixth-seeded Tunisian crashed out to Poland鈥檚 56th-ranked Magda Linette 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 7-5.
The 27-year-old was seen as a potential champion in Paris, despite never having previously got past the fourth round.
Jabeur came into the event with a season-leading 17 wins on clay in 2022 and with the prestigious Madrid title under her belt and a runners-up spot in Rome against world number one Iga Swiatek in Rome.
However, she was undone Sunday by 47 unforced errors in the two hour 28-minute match.
鈥淥bviously I was expecting better but we say maybe something happens bad because there is something good happening in the future,鈥� said Jabeur.
鈥淗opefully the grass season, hopefully Wimbledon, I don鈥檛 know, but it鈥檚 definitely a great time to reflect and to see what鈥檚 going to happen next.鈥�
鈥淪o maybe it was a good thing to lose today. I would rather say this and be really tough with myself than waste all the good energy that I got from Madrid and Rome.鈥�
Jabeur said she was not happy to see that she was starting proceedings on Court Philippe Chatrier on the opening day of the tournament, the first French Open with full crowds since 2019 after a pandemic-affected two years.
鈥淲ell, honestly, I wasn鈥檛 happy to play on a Sunday at 11,鈥� she added.
鈥淚鈥檝e got quite a peculiar relationship with this court, I like it and I don鈥檛 like it at the same time.鈥�
Linette had lost to Jabeur in the third round in 2021 having stunned an injury-hit top seed Ashleigh Barty in her previous match.
鈥淚 just tried to stay focused after the first set and tried to make her uncomfortable. I was happy to fight for every single point,鈥� said Linette who needed treatment on a leg injury after dropping the first set.
鈥淚 shifted my attention to play faster and my racquet speed was faster than in the first set.
鈥淚 wanted to put her in the situation where she couldn鈥檛 move me around as much.鈥�
Linette, a quarter-finalist on clay at Charleston and Strasbourg this year, next faces either 2020 French Open quarter-finalist, and weekend Rabat champion Martina Trevisan of Italy or Britain鈥檚 Harriet Dart for a spot in the last 32.