Aryna Sabalenka reveals secrets about her on-court and off-court personality after cruising at the Australian Open
Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka overcame World No.54 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the second round of the Australian Open.
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Aryna Sabalenka (Image via X)
World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka is a jolly person, only off the court though. On the court, she has to turn fierce to encounter tough challenges. She faced one such challenge in the form of Jessica Bouzas Maneiro on Wednesday (January 15) and after surviving the Spaniard, Sabalenka cracked a joke.
Sabalenka, after beating Sloane Stephens in the first-round, registered her 16th consecutive win at Melbourne Park by a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Maneiro. Following the tough win, Sabalenka declared in front of the crowd inside the Rod Laver Arena that she’s not a crazy person when she’s not playing competitive tennis.
I want people to know I’m not that crazy off-court. It’s only the on-court Aryna. I’m a nice person off the court. I’m not sure if my team will agree with that…but I’m nice, I promise.
Aryna Sabalenka said during her on-court interview
The 26-year-old became the first WTA player to win 16 matches on the trot at Melbourne Park since two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka in 2014. Sabalenka, who started her season by winning the Brisbane International, is chasing history at the Australian Open as she’s bidding to become a champion for the third consecutive time.
And if she achieves it, she will become the first woman since Martina Hingis (1997-99) to complete a three-peat in Melbourne.
Aryna Sabalenka don’t want to play the third set
The match against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, which lasted for an hour and 34 minutes, saw Aryna Sabalenka at 2-5 in the second set. But the Belarusian fought back and won five games in a row to avoid an upset, which would have been the second on the fourth day of the Australian Open after last year’s AO finalist and 2024 Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng‘s defeat to Laura Siegemund on Wednesday morning.
I definitely didn’t want a third set. Who wants it? But at that moment, I didn’t really want to get bothered by that and let go of the set. I told myself, ‘OK, let’s go play a third’ and I somehow mentally prepared myself for that, trying to find my serve to not give her too many chances.
Aryna Sabalenka said during her on-court interview
The three-time Grand Slam singles champion will next square off against Clara Tauson in what will be their first encounter on the WTA Tour. The 22-year-old Dane overcame Linda Noskova in the first round and breezed past Tatjana Maria in the second round.
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Gouri Das
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