Ons Jabeur became the first Tunisian – man or woman – to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam at the Australian Open on Friday on an afternoon of high emotion inside Melbourne Arena.

The world No. 78, whose previous best display at a major was a third round run at Roland Garros and the US Open, overcame Caroline Wozniacki 7-5 3-6 7-5 to achieve the milestone, while also bringing the curtain down on the Dane’s glittering career.

"I'm really happy, especially here at this Grand Slam, usually, I'd lose first round [here], but today I'm really happy that I made it through to the fourth round," Jabeur said after her triumph, before turning to Wozniacki and adding:

"I'm really happy that I played you. You are such an inspiration for me and many players, and I'm lucky enough to have been on tour with you."

For 29-year-old Wozniacki, defeat marked the end of a fantastic career that had taken in the No. 1 ranking, 34 professional titles (including 30 at Tour level), three Olympic appearances and 22 Fed Cup ties for her nation.

But while the result marked the end of Wozniacki’s playing career, for Jabeur, it served as the latest milestone in her development as a tennis player.

Back in May 2017, Jabeur was named among the 12 recipients of a $50,000 International Player Grand Slam Grant financed by the Grand Slam Development Fund.

Back then, it was hoped that the financial boost would allow her to make her mark in the professional game, having contested just two Grand Slam events - resulting in first round defeats at the 2014 US Open and 2015 Australian Open - up to that point.

Few might have predicted that, buoyed by the financial boost from the Grand Slam Development Fund, she would leave such a discernible footprint in the Roland Garros clay less than a month later.

"It's one of the reasons why I'm here today, why I'm winning matches. It's because I'm mentally relaxed, I'm just thinking about tennis and I'm not thinking about paying the staff and stuff," Jabeur said after her 2017 Roland Garros run.

Jabeur has received support from the Grand Slam Development Fund on a number of occasions to develop her tennis career. She was a part of the ITF/GSDF African 14 and Under Team to Europe in 2008, and received four grants to play junior events through 2009-2011, and another to play women's circuit events in 2013.

"A big thanks go to the ITF, who believed in Ons Jabeur many years ago and helped her to get financial support to enable her to get to the level she is playing at now," said Salma Mouelhi Guizani, the President of the Tunisian Federation, and recently elected ITF Board Member.

"Many thanks to Dave Haggerty, who is supporting African players and especially Tunisian players such as Skander Mansouri this year and Aziz Dougaz.

“We are delighted with Jabeur's big victory in Melbourne,” Mouelhi Guizani continued. "All people here in Tunisia are happy - it’s amazing. It’s an historic performance. Jabeur has an aggressive mindset, she is playing her best tennis and she showed that she can be one of the best players in the world after beating Caroline Garcia and Johanna Konta. We hope she continue like this."

And what's to say she can't?