Aryna Sabalenka may not be the darling of the Western media but she does not mind it. Down Under, she has been stealing thunder in this edition of the Australian Open, needing just six sets to win three matches and enter the fourth round.
For sheer power and aggression, the way the Belarusian hammered Lesia Tsurenko 6-0, 6-0 on Friday was scary. But then, for all those who feel she is being cruel in inflicting such defeats, Aryna wants tennis fans to rewind to the times when Iga Swiatek would steamroll her opponents.
The focus at the Australian Open has been on Novak Djokovic, gunning for his 11th title in Melbourne and Swiatek, hoping to win her first title so far away from home. Women’s tennis has seen so many big players being bounced out in the first week this year at the season’s first Major, with Elena Rybakina and Ons Jabeur biting the dust.
Sabalenka is different in many ways. The 25-year-old is five-foot-11. Such good height and a chiselled frame ensures that she produces shots packed with power and also covers the perimeters of the court with efficiency.
To say that Sabalenka has been in top gear this year is stating the obvious, for not allowing her opponents to take a look at her game is a sign of being the favourite this time. Ask Sabalenka about the “fav” tag, and she plays it down.
“Last year Iga won so many sets 6-0 and one of my goals is trying to get closer to her,” said Sabalenka. At the same time, she is not getting carried away by the fact that some of the big players will not be in her way in the remaining rounds.
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In 2023, Sabalenka was a model of consistency, making it to the semi-finals in all the four Grand Slams. “It’s tennis. As we see by some of the top players losing in the earlier matches, that anything can happen, so I don’t want to look that far. I’m just focusing match by match,” stressed Sabalenka.
She is already in beast mode, if her form in three rounds is a sight, but the Belarusian wants to grind. “I’m just trying to do my best and prepare myself as best I can for each match,” added Sabalenka.
On the other hand, Russian Mirra Andreeva refuses to relent. Just 16, she has been sensational this week, though on Friday she needed to come back from a crazy situation and win.
Down match point and 1-5, Andreeva clawed her way back to win the third-round match against France’s Diane Parry 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10/5). For sheer tenacity and mental resilience, what she did on Friday was out of the world.
From a hopeless situation, to string points together with the right game was all about attitude. It was the same cool approach last year as well at the French Open, when Andreeva made it to the third round. Her next stop at Wimbledon was one round better.
Someone like Andy Murray had praised the mental strength of Andreeva. To produce a few wins in a few Grand Slams in one year is one thing and to keep upping the game for a longer run in a fledgling career captures the way Andreeva is evolving as a player.
“All the kids have dreams to become World No. 1 and to win a lot of Grand Slams. For me, it’s just to have a career that everybody will remember, like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal,” said Andreeva.
The night session in Melbourne was short, by Novak standards, as the Serbian was in cruise mode against Tomas Martin Etcheverry, winning 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (7/2). For all those who think Novak has been in trouble winning his first two rounds, the Friday effort was a sublime one.
“It was a great match, the best performance I had during this tournament,” said Djokovic.
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