Aryna Sabalenka says her consistency at the US Open is linked to her love for the tournament as she chases after her first title.
The world No.2 beat Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-4, to reach the quarter-final stage for the fourth year in a row. Becoming the first woman to do so since Serena Williams. Overall, she has won 25 matches at the US Open so far in her career. Against Mertens, she produced 41 winners and won 73% of her first service points.
“I’m super happy to win this match. It was a really tough match, especially in the second set. She stepped in and started to play a little bit better than the first set,” Said Sabalenka.
“I’m really glad that I was able to finish this match in straight sets.
“It’s never easy facing her. She’s a really tricky opponent, and I knew that she’s going to fight, and she’s going to try to find something to keep fighting, keep pushing.”
Sabalenka appears to have fully recovered from her late-night finish at the tournament on Friday. She didn’t get to sleep until around 4am after beating Ekaterinburg Alexandrova with the duo not starting on the court until after midnight. Even though organizers have introduced rules to minimize late-night matches.
Despite the timing of her matches, Sabalenka is relishing her time in New York. She hopes to go one step better at the Grand Slam than last year when she finished runner-up to Coco Gauff. Gauff has been knocked out of this year’s tournament by Emma Navarro.
“I enjoy playing here,” she said.
“The crowd are amazing. I really enjoy playing on these big stadiums and feel all the support.
“I just don’t want to leave early here. I just want to stay as long as I can and enjoy this beautiful court.
“I think that’s why I’m consistently here.”
As for her game, Sabalenka believes she is a mentally and physically better player compared to 12 months ago. So far this season, she has won two titles from playing in five Tour-level finals and reached the quarter-finals or better at three major events. The only exception was Wimbledon which she didn’t play due to injury.
“I improved a lot, and in that final match (against Gauff) there were really tough lessons. The whole preseason I was working a lot on the variation of my game, make sure I can come to the net, make sure I can use my touch, slice, drop shots, and all that stuff. I think that’s really helpful, and I think I improved a lot.” She said.
“Mentally, I think since last year I’m much stronger. So many things happened. I think I improved in lots of different ways.”
Sabalenka is one of three top five seeds left in the women’s draw along with Iga Swiatek and Jasmine Paolini.
