Sabalenka expecting ‘big chance' to win on Madrid clay
World number one Aryna Sabalenka believes she will have 'big chances' to perform well on clay this season, should she recapture the level she showed during last year's Madrid Open final against Iga Swiatek.
The Belarusian squandered three match points in a heartbreaking defeat by Swiatek in the Spanish capital 12 months ago, in what was a high-quality clash that earned WTA Match of the Year honours at the end of the season.
Targeting a third Madrid Open crown this fortnight at the Caja Magica, Sabalenka reflects fondly on her final against Swiatek, despite coming agonisingly close to victory before falling just short.
'That match was a blockbuster, and I really enjoyed playing, it was very intense, very long. If I can play like that in every match on clay, I think I have big chances to perform well on the clay court season this year,' Sabalenka said o n Wednesday.
'That was amazing match, even though I lost it. 'Nothing I can be upset with, to be honest. I did my best there, and she just outplayed me.'
Sabalenka arrives in Madrid on the back of a runner-up showing in Stuttgart, where she fell in the final to Jelena Ostapenko.
The 26 - year- old, who won the 2024 US and Australian Opens, is still waiting for her first title on clay since her 2023 Madrid triumph.
The top seed will open her campaign against Anna Blinkova or Panna Udvardy in round two.
This season is featuring live electronic line calling on clay for the first time on the WTA and ATP tours –- a decision that has been met with mixed reaction.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Tribune
a day ago
- Daily Tribune
Boisson jumps 296 places in WTA rankings after French Open run
AFP | Paris France's Lois Boisson, a surprise French Open semi-finalist, has jumped 296 places in the latest WTA rankings released yesterday to a career-high 65. Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff hold the top two spots after their run to the finals in Paris where American Gauff defeated world number one Sabalenka in three sets. Boisson received a wildcard entry a year after undergoing surgery on her left knee, playing her first Grand Slam ranked 361th in the world. The 22-year-old beat world number three Jessica Pegula and sixth ranked Mirra Andreeva before falling to Gauff in the semi-finals. Iga Swiatek, the defending three-time French Open champion, falls two places to seventh after her semi-final defeat to Sabalenka. China's Zheng Qinwen moves up to fifth after reaching the quarter-finals in Paris where she won Olympic gold last year.
Daily Tribune
2 days ago
- Daily Tribune
Marquez 1-2 as Marc extends lead in Aragon MotoGP stroll
AFP | Alcaniz Six-time world champion Marc Marquez eased to victory over his younger brother Alex in the Aragon MotoGP yesterday to extend his lead in this season's title race. Marc Marquez led from start to finish on his Ducati to record his seventh win in this race from 11 starts and his fourth victory of the campaign. He leads h i s brother by 32 points after eight of the 22-race programme with two-time world champion Francesco Bagnaia, who was third, 93 points adrift. Marc is well set for a seventh world title which w o u l d bring him level with Valentino Rossi and one shy of the record held by the latter's fellow Italian Giacomo Agostini. 'Yes a perfect weekend,' said Marc Marquez, who became the first rider since he did the same in the 2015 German MotoGP to top all the practice sessions, take pole and win the race. 'I was more serious than usual as I felt I couldn't afford to make mistakes. 'I rode in a very good way,' added Marc, who ended a three-race losing streak. The two brothers got off their bikes halfway round the victory lap and jumped into each other's arms, though, unable to kiss as they still had their helmets on and sending the 50,000 spectators wild. 'To be brothers and Spanish in front of a home crowd is extra special for me,' said Alex Marquez, who at 29 is three years his brother's junior.
Daily Tribune
2 days ago
- Daily Tribune
Gauff says French Open title ‘one I really wanted'
AFP | Paris Coco Gauff said a maiden French Open trophy was 'one I really wanted' after securing the title with victory over Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday. The 21-year-old secured a hard-fought 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-4 win over the world number one in difficult, windy conditions at Roland Garros. 'I felt like this is one I really wanted, because I do think this was one of the tournaments that when I was younger that I felt I had the best shot of winning,' said American star Gauff. 'So I just felt like if I went through my career and didn't get at least one of these, I would feel regrets and stuff. 'Today, playing Aryna, I was just, 'I just gotta go for it and try my best to get through the match'.' It was a long-awaited success for Gauff, who was in tears after losing the 2022 French Open final to Iga Swiatek as a teenager and had reached at least the quarter-finals in Paris in each of the previous four years. 'That ceremony when Iga won, I just remembered trying to take it all in and pay attention to every detail and just feel like I wanted that experience for myself,' added the world number two, who also came back from a set down to beat Sabalenka in the 2023 US Open final. 'When the anthem got played, I vividly remember watching her, pretty emotional when the Polish anthem got played. I was, like, 'Wow, this is such a cool moment'. 'So when the (USA) anthem got played today, I kind of had those reflections.' 'Not a day for great tennis' Gauff is the first woman to beat a world number one in a Grand Slam final from a set down since Venus Williams against Lindsay Davenport at Wimbledon in 2005. It was her first title since lifting the WTA Finals trophy last year, after suffering final defeats in both the Madrid and Italian Opens to Sabalenka and Jasmine Paolini respectively. Sabalenka called the conditions 'terrible', as the wind swirled after the roof was opened shortly before the start of the match. 'It was not a day for great tennis, honestly,' admitted Gauff. 'I don't know too many people that could play great tennis today, but it's part of the sport and part of playing outside.' American film director and diehard New York Knicks fan Spike Lee was in attendance and celebrated with Gauff after her victory. 'I wanted to tell him, I had to do it, that even though the Knicks didn't win, I gave him something to cheer for,' she said, in reference to the Knicks' defeat by the Indiana Pacers in the NBA's Eastern Conference Finals last weekend. Both players struggled on serve, especially in a 77-minute first set featuring eight breaks. Sabalenka said she thought Swiatek would have beaten Gauff if she had not ended the Pole's title defence in the semi-finals, but the actual champion shot down those thoughts. 'I don't agree with that. I'm sitting here,' said Gauff, who thrashed Swiatek 6-1, 6-1 in the Madrid semi-finals last month, taking a glance at the trophy next to her. 'Last time I played -- no shade to Iga or anything, but I played her and I won in straight sets. 'I don't think that's a fair thing to say, because anything can really happen.'
