Aryna Sabalenka has won her 16th consecutive match at the Australian Open, but the world number one did not have it all her own way.
Sabalenka beat Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in straight sets on Rod Laver Arena, despite trailing 5-2 in the second set.
The defending champion appears to be enjoying her title defence so far, with Sabalenka even dancing on court after her first round win in Melbourne.
Although she has not enjoyed everything about the first major of 2025, with Sabalenka criticizing the new Australian Open coaching setup.
While Sabalenka moves closer to her third successive Australian Open title, some of her rivals have already exited the tournament.
Aryna Sabalenka reacts to Qinwen Zheng’s unexpected Australian Open defeat
One of those players is Qinwen Zheng, who is the highest seed already out of the Australian Open after losing to Laura Siegemund in straight sets.
The world number five reached the Australian Open final last year, and Zheng had backed herself to beat Sabalenka despite their one-sided head-to-head.
Zheng recently pinpointed her return as a weakness, and that proved to be an issue against Siegmund having won only 33% of her points against serve.
When speaking in her post-match press conference, Sabalenka reacted to the Olympic champion exiting the Australian Open and explained what that means for her tournament.
“I saw she lost. Very sad to see,” said Sabalenka. “Listen, it’s a Slam, you know? Not everyone can handle these emotions. Once again, as you see, there is so many players who is playing really well in these conditions. It’s not like if they gone, it’s easy for me. No, it’s not.
“I have to go there, I have to compete, I have to fight. Today’s match proved that. Girls can go there and just play without any fear, without anything to lose. They can put you in really uncomfortable position.
You have to go out there and fight and compete and show your best. As you said, yeah, I prefer to focus day by day, step by step. I really enjoy being out there and compete. This is something I’m focusing on.”
Aryna Sabalenka reveals what statistic she is no longer looking at
Sabalenka was also focussing on areas of her own game that she noticed, with her average first serve speed against Bouzas Maneiro at 102 mph (164 kmh).
While not officially recognized by the WTA, Sabalenka’s fastest recorded serve came at the WTA Elite Trophy in 2018 up at 133 mph (214 kmh).
Despite this, Sabalenka put these slower figures down to the conditions in Melbourne and told press that she was going to try and focus less on the speed machine.
“About the first serve speed, I think I was too much into that machine,” said the three-time major winner. “In these conditions probably you’re not going to serve your fastest serve because balls getting pretty heavy.
“When I stop looking at that statistic, I start serving better. I was actually serving some heavy, heavy serves. I think I’m not going to look at that statistic anymore. I’m going to focus step by step. Yeah, hopefully I can do really well here.”
Sabalenka will continue her bid for Australian Open history on Friday January 17, playing her third round match against Clara Tauson, who has recently won the Auckland title.
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