Aryna Sabalenka overcame a stern test against Britain’s Katie Boulter to book her place in the third round of the China Open on Tuesday.
The top seed was forced to dig deep during her 7-5, 7-6(2), win over the world No.56. In both sets Boulter had a chance to serve them out but was denied by a determined Sabalenka who battled back. The Belrussian faced 12 break points during the match but she managed to save 10 of them.
“She’s a great player. I’m just super happy to win this match,” Sabalenka said afterward.
“In the key moments, I played a little bit better than her. I think it was all about the last games in each set.’
“I’m super happy that I didn’t give her easily those sets. I kept fighting, keep trying. That’s what made the difference.”
Sabalenka now leads Boulter 3-0 in their head-to-head with their latest meeting being the first time the Brit has played a current world No.1 player. She is bidding to become the fourth player to win both the Australian Open and Beijing titles within the same season and the first to do so since Naomi Osaka in 2019. Two out of her five WTA 1000 titles were won on Chinese soil.
“The courts are really great. I would say it suits my game really well. The atmosphere is amazing,” Sabalenka commented.
“It’s been a while, like four years (since she last played in China). I’m a completely different person and a completely different player right now. I know better how to use these courts, how to play on these courts.”
A prominent subject being discussed during this tournament has been regarding the quality of the tennis balls which Daniil Medvedev describes as like a ‘grapefruit’ after being used for a couple of games. He has also voiced concerns that using different balls at various tournaments is contributing towards a rise in player injuries with others on the Tour expressing similar comments.
Sabalenka has backed up Medvedev’s remarks about the ball changing after two games and admits she would prefer different ones being used.
“I cannot imagine what’s happening with the men’s game because the rallies are longer and the ball’s getting even bigger,” she said.
“Today after a couple of games, the balls were getting heavier and bigger. Because of that, the game was getting slower. It’s tough.;’
“It’s tough conditions. I don’t know, but it seems to work good for me, so I’m like, It’s okay. (But) I would prefer probably different balls for this surface.”
Sabalenka will play Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in her next match.
