First for Jabeur as she reaches quarterfinals in Australia

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Ons Jabeur is the first Arab woman to make it to a Grand Slam singles quarterfinal, and she’s proud to lead the way.

“I’m trying to inspire many young generations back home either in Tunisia or the Arabic world, especially in Africa, which is amazing,” she said. “I’ve been practicing in Tunisia from the age of 3.” She added, smiling: “I’m a 100% Tunisian product.”

The 78th-ranked Jabeur beat 27th-ranked Wang Qiang, who upset 23-time major winner Serena Williams in the previous round, 7-6 (4), 6-1 on Sunday. The 25-year-old Jabeur will play American Sofia Kenin on Tuesday in the final eight.Jabeur said she had plenty of scholarship offers to go to college in the U.S., but “I wanted to really go pro directly.”

She attended tennis academies in Belgium and France but she decided that returning to Tunisia was a “good option.”

A French Open junior champion in 2011, Jabeur expected quick success on on the elite tour.

“It was a little bit frustrating just after the juniors because I was expecting to go better,” she said. “So many players I played with in juniors, I see them, they’re like top 50, top 20.”

She’s on her way up the rankings now, after making the last eight in the season’s first major. She’s gaining attention with each match in Australia, and keeping her family awake.

“I called my mom right away, she was really, really happy,” Jabeur said of her win over Wang. “My father as well, I think he was crying. Also my two brothers, the one in Germany and the one in France. The family, everyone was behind me. They couldn’t go back to sleep again.

“I’m happy that I have this support because we’ve been through rough times — now it’s finally paying off.”