Aryna Sabalenka not surprised over reception on Centre Court as Ons Jabeur thanked Wimbledon crowd for helping her defeat the Belarusian
Sabalenka stated that she was fine with the crowd supporting her opponent more and that she had no control over it, and that's why she rather focused on herself.
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Ons Jabeur, Aryna Sabalenka (Image via Daily Sabah)
Aryna Sabalenka was eyeing her maiden title at the Wimbledon Championships. Except for her second-round match, almost all the other rounds looked like a cakewalk for the Belarusian. However, in the semi-final, she faced last year’s runner-up Ons Jabeur whom she failed to overcome, losing the match by 7-6(7-5), 4-6, 3-6.
The Belarusian power-hitter breezed past Panna Udvardy in the first round, followed by her victory in three sets over Varvara Gracheva. That was the only challenge she faced in the early rounds; and in the third and fourth rounds, she knocked out Anna Blinkova and Ekaterina Alexandrova respectively.
In the quarterfinals, Madison Keys faced the same result as Sabalenka’s other opponents. Had Sabalenka won the semifinal, she would have reached the top of the rankings, but she missed out on this chance meaning Poland’s Iga Swiatek will still be the No.1 from the next week.
During the press conference, the Belarusian was asked whether the incessant support for Jabuer from the crowd affected her mentally which resulted in her ending up on the losing side. The 25-year-old gave a blunt statement, saying she had already expected crowd support for Jabuer beforehand. The Tunisian had thanked the crowd for the support after the match.
Sabalenka stated that she was fine with the crowd supporting her opponent more and that she had no control over it, and that’s why she rather focused on herself. “I know there is a lot of people watching on TV supporting me. I have my family. I have my team. That’s enough for me,” she said at the press conference.
Aryna Sabalenka is having a mixed season this year
Sabalenka has been able to reach the three semifinals in the three Grand Slam tournaments this year. Her best came earlier in the year when she lifted her first Grand Slam trophy at the Australian Open.
She has also won the Madrid 1000 event. At the press conference, she said that this year has been one of the best for her but accepted that it’s still tough to forget matches like the one against Jabeur.
Meanwhile, Jabeur has reached her consecutive Wimbledon finals; and this is also her third one in Grand Slam events in 12 months. She overcame defending champion Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals in three sets 6-7(5-7),6-4, 6-1. In the summit clash, she will meet Czech player Marketa Vondrousova on Saturday (July 15).
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Gouri Das
(4898 Articles Published)