Aryna Sabalenka had a funny moment during her Indian Wells presser as the Belarusian hilariously asked a reporter if they were trying to "put some pressure" on her by bringing up some things about Sonay Kartal.
On Monday, the top seed demolished Lucia Bronzetti 6-1 6-2 to reach the round-of-16 in the desert. There, she will battle against 83rd-ranked Sonay Kartal for the first time in her career, who has won three main-draw matches in Indian Wells as a lucky loser.
"I think I never played her before, and not like I saw a lot of matches of her, but I'm sure that my team will prepare some highlights of her. We'll watch some of her games," Sabalenka said.
After admitting that she didn't know much about the 23-year-old Briton, the Belarusian was told by a reporter: "She likes these conditions, and she grew up on the south coast of England in a place called Brighton."
Responding to it, the world No. 1 funnily asked: "Are you trying to put some pressure on me right now or what (smiling)?"
The reporter proceeded by telling the Belarusian they only wanted to "give some information" to her about her next rival.
"Okay. Thank you. Thank you," the three-time Grand Slam champion said.
Sabalenka doesn't think the weather conditions will be an issue
After a bit of joking around, the 2023 Indian Wells runner-up got serious and said that she doesn't expect to have major issues with the possible wind or any other conditions.
"I think nowadays I'm doing much better with adjusting to whatever conditions it is. I like this court, as well. So we are even on that (smiling)," Sabalenka explained.
Kartal may be in the midst of her career-best run but Sabalenka enters the match as the absolute favorite. Also, this will be the biggest match of the Briton's life so it won't be surprising to see her looking nervous and that impacting her game.
