Aryna Sabalenka calls French Open ‘EXHAUSTIVE and TOUGH’ after losing the semis despite match points against Karolina Muchova

Aryna Sabalenka focuses on positive learning from her semifinal clash against Karolina Muchova

Aryna Sabalenka calls French Open ‘EXHAUSTIVE and TOUGH’ after losing the semis despite match points against Karolina Muchova

Aryna Sabalenka (Image credit: news.com.au)

Aryna Sabalenka crashed out of the French Open semi-final against Karolina Muchova. The match was the upset of the season as no one expected Muchova to outplay Sabalenka. Despite having match points, Sabalenka could not capitalize on the crucial moments and ended up losing by a narrow margin. Whereas Karolina Muchova looked determined and inspired and fought back tooth and nail to take away the match from the grasp of Sabalenka.

In the post-match conference, Aryna Sabalenka opened up about her emotions after the tough loss against the Czech. Sabalenka talked about the mental and physical state of exhaustion she faced after 2 weeks of playing at Roland Garros. “I think I’m really exhausted right now,” said World No. 2.

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However, she also admitted that she could be tired as she lost her semifinal or else she would be fired up. “But I think it’s only because I lost this match, and it’s very, like, very tough, tough match for me to lose,” added the Belarusian. “But, yeah, I think it’s normal to feel exhausted after two weeks of playing non-stop and playing on the clay. It’s always physical matches,” Sabalenka told the press.

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Though Sabalenka had opted out of the Press conference for 2 rounds in the French Open, she appeared for her final press conference. She had opted out, citing safety concerns as she was constantly asked about her stance on the war against Ukraine. Even in the semifinal press conference, she was asked about the war, but the player told the journalists, “Lets stick to tennis.”

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Aryna Sabalenka focusing on positive takeaways from the French Open

Aryna Sabalenka
(Image Via Getty Images)

The World No. 2 spoke like a true wise sportsperson after a loss. She commended her opponent, Karolina Muchova, for her outstanding performance. “She [Muchova] played unbelievable tennis,” said Sabalenka. Sabalenka was close to winning her match but lost the chances and she reflected on that. “I had a lot of opportunities, and I didn’t use it. Yeah, of course I’m very disappointed with this tough loss, but that’s OK,” added the World No. 2 Belarusian.

She said she did not want to dwell too much on the loss and take away the great learnings from the match. “I definitely have to learn something from this match and come back stronger. But, anyway, I think what I was doing and hopefully I will keep doing it this season, that’s incredible, just next level,” added Sabalenka.

At the end Aryna Sabalenka summarized the tournament as a positive tournament rather than a negative. This was the best result by far in her career at the French Open, which is a feat in itself. Though the 25-year-old hoped to increase her Grand Slam title count by one, she was gracious in the loss.

“I don’t look at this tournament as negative tournament. I think I did great improvement on the clay court, and it’s my best result here.” Though her emotions played a bit of a seesaw as the player remembered how close she was to victory. She concluded her interview, saying, “Anyway, whatever, I’ll come back stronger. It’s tough match, but I had so many opportunities, but still, I would like to look at this tournament as a positive tournament.”

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