“Upset of the year?” – Tennis Twitter reacts to Aryna Sabalenka bowing out in Rome opener just days after winning the Madrid Open
Aryna Sabalenka is out of the Italian Open after losing in the first round to the World No.134 Sofia Kenin
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Aryna Sabalenka( Credits: @TheTennisLetter/ Twitter)
Aryna Sabalenka has faced her first tough loss of the season. At the Italian Open, the Belarussian faced the first-round upset from the World No.134, Sofia Kenin. Her ‘unexpected’ departure sparked an internet debate regarding her prospects at the Roland Garros.
The World No.2 has started the season with her maiden Grand Slam win at the Australian Open. Since then, the Belarussian has been unstoppable as she made four final appearances at the WTA Tours. She recently won the Madrid Open trophy after winning an exhaustive battle against the World No.1, Iga Swiatek.
Her early exit from the Rome Open was nothing less than a shock for the tennis world. With her semi-final appearance at the tournament last year, the fans expected a better performance from the Australian Open champion.
The Madrid Open champion’s exit came after the ‘shocking’ upset of the World No.2 Jessica Pegula. The 29-year-old was defeated by the outstanding performance of fellow American Taylor Townsend. The internet had various reactions to the situation. Some cited that the players were facing ‘fatigue’ with back-to-back tours.
Sharing a wide spectrum of reactions online, here’s what fans have to say:
Many tennis fans also appreciated the brilliant performance of Sofia Kenin. They congratulated the American for her incredible first Top 10 win of the season. Kenin will be facing Anhelina Kalinina in the third round of the Italian Open.
Sabalenka reached the finals of the Stuttgart Open. But, she was defeated in straight sets by Iga Swiatek. The Belarus player also lost the Indian Wells Masters title to the incredible play of Elena Rybakina.
Aryna Sabalenka is eyeing her second Grand Slam at the Roland Garros
Aryna Sabalenka has been riding on a huge success rate since the beginning of this year. The World No.2 has appeared at four finals of the WTA Tour and won two of them at Adelaide and Madrid. Her maiden Grand Slam win at the Australian Open established her as the player to look out for the season.
At the French Open last year, the Belarussian was shown an early exit, after her third-round defeat at the hands of Camila Giorgi. With the Slam just two weeks away, Sabalenka has been named as the potential contender for the title. Her ‘aggressive’ and ‘overpowering’ game style will pose a huge challenge to other competitors. During Stuttgart Open, the Belarus player credited her victory over Barbora Krejcikova as the ‘preparation’ for Roland Garros.
“It’s tough but an interesting challenge to play the first match against a Grand Slam champion. I think it’s a good preparation before the bigger tournament. You play only tough matches from the first round, so I think it’s a good tournament to play before going into the big tournaments”, she spoke at the press conference.
Chris Evert, the former World No.1, also picked Sabalenka as a potential contender for the Grand Slam. She also declared the Belarussian as the biggest hurdle on Iga Swiatek’s road to the championship.
“Aryna Sabalenka has the power to overpower Iga. She will have to be consistent if she’s going to overpower and she’s going to get a lot of winners, but she’s got to cut down the errors”, she said at Eurosport.
“I love the way she’s playing as well, week to week, she’s clearly established herself as the number two player in the world and she knows how she’s just so much better with her patience in the points. She’s better with patience with herself“, she further added.
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Vitasta Singh
(691 Articles Published)