World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, a three-time Grand Slam champion, shared her thoughts after defeating China`s Zheng Qinwen in the Miami Open WTA 1000 quarterfinal.
Sabalenka expressed satisfaction with her level of play in the first set. She noted that in the second set, both players struggled to adjust to the balls, possibly due to the late match time causing the balls to become heavier. This led to serving difficulties for both, with seven breaks of serve in the second set alone.
Despite her serve not being at its best, Sabalenka was pleased with her emotional control and her fighting spirit to win every point. She takes pride in her resilience.
Sabalenka also addressed her dominant 6-0 head-to-head record against Zheng Qinwen, attributing it to her greater experience and understanding of how to play against her. She believes the head-to-head advantage creates a psychological edge. While acknowledging that facing Zheng Qinwen is always challenging and victory isn`t guaranteed, Sabalenka emphasizes her competitive approach, aiming to showcase her best tennis and fighting spirit, which has been successful so far.
Gilbert Pendleton