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It looks like Ons Jabeur will have to put her plans of taking in Wednesday night’s Real Madrid match in person after putting down a 6-3, 6-2 stunner of two-time Mutua Madrid Open champion Simona Halep. The win puts her into a second WTA 1000 semifinal, a milestone that makes for less than ideal scheduling given her favorite footie team’s Champions League final-four clash with Manchester City.

“You know, it's tricky. I play tomorrow,” sighed the affable Tunisian. “The match is late. So, I'm just going to pretend that, you know, I'm just have a match tomorrow.

“No, I mean, I want to go, but I don't want to go just for 45 minutes and then go back. If I'm gonna stay, it's going to be very late for me.”

No stranger to the direct approach, Jabeur had previously hoped for a little help from Spain’s favorite son Rafael Nadal when it came to snagging an extra ticket.

“I’m just going to put it out there: Rafa, if you need a plus one—then we can go together to support Real Madrid. They need me, come on!” she exclaimed earlier this week.

Hey @RafaelNadal, you need a +1 to the game??

cc: @realmadriden pic.twitter.com/ASUaxzGWKj
— wta (@WTA) May 4, 2022

Jabeur made quite a case with her play against Halep, who had reached the quarterfinals without dropping a set with wins over world No. 2 Paula Badosa and Coco Gauff. Taking on the former No. 1 for the second time this season, the flashy No. 8 seed struck a whopping 25 winners to just eight from the Romanian and converted four of five break point opportunities to put herself in position for the biggest final of her career.

With Roland Garros on the horizon, the former junior champion hopes to meet Real Madrid in Paris.

“If they win, I know the final is in Paris. I'm following. Don't worry, I'm following in Paris. I have my connections there,” she said.

“Unless it's going to be the same time as the French Open, but, you know, finals of Champions League is always a dream of mine. So, let's see.”

Jabeur will face either Ekaterina Alexandrova or Amanda Anisimova on Thursday.

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