Rome – Whileryna Sabalenka crosses the bridge between the Foro Italico court court and the terrace where she has to manage her media requirements, she is seen by the fans below. There is a sudden wave of excitement – “Aryna! Aryna!” – They call. The world n ° 1 smiles, salutes, poses and takes its own photo of the moment.
Not everyone is so happy to see her. While Sabalenka leaves the bridge, the first person she sees is Anastasia Potapova, that she had beaten 6-2, 6-2 half an hour earlier to open her interaziali BNL of Italia campaign. Immediately, Potapova sticks an adult jokingly to his winner. Smiling, Sabalenka also takes a picture of this.
Rome: Draw | Scores | Game order
“If she was fighting me, I would probably do the same,” said Sabalenka, laughing afterwards. “She is a nice girl and we are good friends. I can understand how she feels right now. But there is no tension, these are just jokes.”
All the jokes outside the courtyard, Sabalenka had been fully displayed while the Madrid champion extended her sequence of victories with seven games. Having also been a finalist at Stuttgart last month at Jelena Ostapenko, her clay record this year is now 9-1. Although her main point to remember from the match was how she needed to adapt to the “completely different” conditions in Rome, where the ball does not bounce as high as in Madrid, the performance of Sabalenka had been fluid. It won 70% of its first services, won 80% of these points and hit 18 winners.
“I had to understand the field and how I can use my game in the best way on this surface”, the seeded n ° 1. “This match was more like me trying to adapt to the surface.”
The response to this was a series of judiciously deployed falls – a touch of finesse which is no longer a novelty in the Power game of Sabalenka, but a signature component of it.
In the next round, she will face a player who is also known for her skills on this plan-the seeded n ° 31 Sofia Kenin, who advanced 6-3, 6-0 after Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Sabalenka leads his head to the American 3-1, but this defeat came here to Rome two years ago in the second round. This time, Sabalenka was also fresh out of the title of Madrid.
Already seen? If this is the case, Sabalenka feels no apprehension on this subject.
“This is a good opportunity for good revenge,” she said firmly.
