After a thrilling week of tennis at the WTA Charleston Open, just two women remain in contention for the title. Both will surely be eager to claim a clay-court title with the French Open looming on the horizon, but will it be Ons Jabeur or Astra Sharma who lifts the trophy on Sunday?<\/p>\n
Head-to-head: <\/strong>first meeting<\/p>\n Jabeur arrived at the WTA Charleston Open after a start to the season that had not quite lived up to the expectations she created in 2019 and 2020. At the Australian Open, she was dismissed in straight sets by Naomi Osaka in the third round and the Tunisian followed that with early defeats in Doha, Dubai and Miami. But she looked to be back to her best at last week\u2019s event in Charleston and \u00a0reached the semifinals only to fall short there, losing 2-6 3-6 to Danka Kovinic.<\/p>\n But, after picking up wins over Stefanie Voegele, home hope Alycia Parks and Nao Hibino, losing only ten games in the process, the top-seeded Jabeur found herself back in the semifinals, facing Kovinic once again. This week, Jabeur played with the mixture of aggression and guile that signals that she is at her best, sweeping Kovinic aside in straight sets, 6-3 6-0, to secure her place in her second WTA Tour final where she will Sharma, who is also playing her second final at this level.<\/p>\n The Australian opened her campaign in Charleston with an impressive 6-2 6-4 win over Wang Yafan, before battling past ninth seed Madison Brengle in three sets to reach the quarterfinals. Sharma then got the better of Linda Fruhvirtova, 6-3 6-4, to set up a semifinal clash with recent WTA Bogota Open champion Maria Osorio Serrano, who had won her last eight matches. But it was Sharma\u2019s day in Charleston as the world #165 recorded a 7-6 6-1 win to reach her first WTA final.<\/p>\n Unfortunately for Sharma, it is hard to see her claiming the title. She has played some very good tennis this week, but she has not yet faced an opponent of Jabeur\u2019s quality. The Tunisian is a former Australian Open quarterfinalist<\/a> and she reached the fourth round at the French Open last season. Jabeur is admittedly not the most consistent performer, but when she is on song \u2013 as she has been this week \u2013 she is a very hard player to beat.<\/p>\n Prediction: Jabeur in 2<\/em><\/p>\n Main photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>