Aryna Sabalenka has admitted that she is ‘super proud’ of her record at the Australian Open despite falling short at this year’s event.
The world number one was bidding to become the fourth woman in the Open Era to win the same Grand Slam on three consecutive occasions.
However that mission fell short as she lost to Madison Keys 6-3 2-6 7-5 to end her 20 match winning streak in Melbourne.
Speaking after the match Sabalenka praised the way Keys played and admitted it wasn’t her day, “Yeah, it’s definitely not the result I wanted to have. But I don’t know, I think she just stepped in and play, like, nothing to lose at the end and was just going for her shots,” Sabalenka started her press conference by saying.
“At that moment I went in, so was great tennis. She fight throughout the tournament. She had a lot of difficult matches. She fought for it. In the final, she was playing really aggressively. Yeah, just wasn’t my day.
“Well, I think she played, like, super aggressive. It seemed like everything was going her way. I was just trying to put the ball back. Couldn’t really play my aggressive tennis and didn’t feel my serve that well. The return was off. Then in the second set I kind of got my rhythm back. From the second set, I would say the real tennis match started.”
It was a frustrating day at the office for Sabalenka as she missed out on the chance to secure history.
The world number one showed that frustration when she smashes the racket on the court and left the court to cry.
After the match Sabalenka admitted the thought of achieving history got to her and the meltdown was much needed, “Well, I mean, there definitely was a bit of frustration because I was so close to achieve something crazy,” Sabalenka admitted.
“When you’re out there, you’re fighting, but it seems like everything going not the way you really want to go. I just needed to throw those negative emotions at the end just so I could give a speech, not stand there being disrespectful. I was just trying to let it go and be a good person, be respectful. It’s okay. I mean, I’m the one who knows that after tough losses, there is good wins.
“I just needed to kind of, like, needed that time for myself to kind of like switch off and forget and leave it in the best and be respectful, not be – I don’t know. Just wanted to be respectful. I just needed to throw those stuff out and needed some time with myself. Yeah, that’s definitely really tough. I was stand there and just was like, Okay, c’mon, you’ve been in her position. She deserve that. She was better player than you.
“So I’ll keep working and make sure that next time, if I’ll be in this situation, I’ll play definitely better.”
Despite the defeat there is lots to be proud of though as Sabalenka won 20 consecutive matches at the Australian Open before losing to Keys.
Sabalenka admits she is ‘super proud’ of her achievements in Melbourne, “I mean, I’m super proud. As I was saying before these finals, the thing that I was able to achieve that many wins in a row at one Grand Slam, that’s crazy,” Sabalenka admitted in her press conference.
“That’s already something, you know? Anyway, when someone else going to achieve the same, they’re going to say the last player who was able to achieve, they’re going to say my name. It’s already something big. I’m just trying to stay positive right now.
“I couldn’t even dream, couldn’t even think about that, like, few years ago that I’d be able to win that many matches in the row at one slam. There is definitely something to be proud of and something I definitely have to improve and be better at.
“It’s always a process of these things to be proud and then to improve some stuff, which didn’t work well.”