Aryna Sabalenka was seemingly left stunned by one question in Beijing but instead of reacting in certain ways, she responded to it in a funny manner.
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On Monday, the Belarusian tennis star made light work of Ashlyn Krueger after sealing a 6-2 6-2 win to improve to 14 consecutive victories. Since Iga Swiatek is not playing this week due to personal reasons, the reigning US Open champion is the top favorite for the title but also the No. 1 seed.
But following Sabalenka's latest win, one reporter brought up an interesting stat - told her that she has only twice in 18 cases won tournaments where she was the top seed. The reporter then asked to explain what's like the pressure in those situations and if she was determined to "flip the narrative" this week in Beijing.
Answering the question, the 26-year-old noted that she never thought about that particular stat before hilariously accusing the reporter of being the one who is causing her to feel pressure.
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"You're the one who's putting pressure on me. Before, like, this question came up, I didn't even think about that (laughter). I don't know. Maybe like in the past it was some sort of pressure. Nowadays, I'm not focusing on that. It's just the ranking. You can be world No. 1, and if you're not bringing your best tennis, like, you're not going to win the match. Every time you're on the court, you have to bring your best tennis. If it's not the best tennis, you have to fight for every point," Sabalenka said.
"Nowadays I'm just trying to focus on myself, on improving myself every day, and staying calm on court, just trying to bring my best fight spirit on court. Yeah, it's all about that I think. Yeah, I'm not focusing on that. But, I mean, right now because you asked this question, I'm going to think about that. Oh, my God, I need to get better in that stat. Thank you (smiling)... No, I'm kidding."
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Sabalenka on her big success in China
From her early days on the WTA Tour, Asian soil has been a happy hunting place for Sabalenka - especially China. In 2017, she made her first WTA semifinal in Tianjin before falling short to Maria Sharapova in a tight two-setter.
After a deep Tianjin run in 2017, the current world No. 2 won back-to-back Wuhan titles in 2018 and 2019 - won Shenzhen in 2019 - and also made it all the way at the 2019 WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai. Due to the pandemic, the Belarusian didn't play in China again until last year when she lost to Elena Rybakina in the Beijing quarterfinal.
Considering that the Sabalenka has basically always had success in China, she was interestingly asked if she had a sense from Day 1 that this could be a special region of the world for her.
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"Well, back then I didn't really think a lot (laughter). I was just playing my tennis. I don't know. Like, it sounds crazy, right? I played so many tournaments in China and I played really well in most of them. Yeah, the stats are impressive in China. I mean, I can assume it's the fried rice that probably does that magic, I don't know (smiling). I don't know, I love playing in China. I love the conditions. I love the crowd. It's really great atmosphere. It feels like the tennis community became bigger here, more people watching us playing. It's really amazing to see. Yeah, I'm just enjoying atmosphere," she said.
Sabalenka makes admission amidst her big winning streak
If the top seed beats Madison Keys in this year's Beijing quarterfinal, she will win collect her 15th consecutive win and tie her previous longest winning streak. So far in the tournament, the Belarusian got the job done in both of her matches in two sets. It should be noted that she has dropped just one set in her last 14 matches.
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However, Sabalenka still doesn't necessarily feel that she is playing her best tennis.
"Well, maybe right now, like, I'm not playing my best, best tennis. But I think the way I'm controlling my emotions and the way I'm holding myself sometimes really helping me to stay in most of the matches, in those difficult situations to keep fighting and keep playing my best tennis. So I think, yeah, control over my emotions, that's the key," the three-time Grand Slam champion explained.
Against Keys, Sabalenka has three wins and one loss - she won both of their two meetings that were played on hard while they split their two meetings on grass.
