Aryna Sabalenka has powered into the quarterfinals of the Australian Open after knocking out Victoria Mboko.
Sabalenka has been tipped to win the Australian Open, a feat the Belarusian ace achieved in both 2023 and 2024.
The WTA number one also reached last year’s final, which she lost to Madison Keys, before winning the US Open.
Sabalenka is now eyeing further success at the Australian Open, having just defeated rising star Mboko 6-1, 7-6(7-1).
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Victoria Mboko beaten by Aryna Sabalenka’s experience in Melbourne
World number 16 Mboko, who won the Canadian Open last season, has now discussed her exit from the Grand Slam, where she was making her debut.
“It was a pretty nice experience being it my first time on the center court playing against world number one,” she said. “Yeah, I think at the end of the day it really came down to experience.
“She played really great tennis. I of course had my chances. But I’m glad to have played her today and just seeing how she can play and what to expect. So just a learning curve from now on.”
Victoria Mboko struggled to return Aryna Sabalenka’s serve
Mboko was also tasked with discussing her apparent ongoing trend of coming back against top players after losing the first set.
When asked if Sabalenka did something specific to prevent that from happening this time, she said: “Yeah, I’ve been in so many situations where sometimes I’ll have a slower start.
“She played really great tennis in the first set, serving well, great ball striking. I think I started to get used to her I’d say pattern of play in a way or like her pace of the ball and just tried to run with it.
“Trying to find my rhythm as the match went on also was important for me. Yeah, I was pretty close in the second set.
“She was serving really well. It was difficult to return her balls. And yeah, I mean, she upped her level at the end of the day.”
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And discussing if she had a Plan B amid the difficulty of dictating points against Sabalenka, Mboko said: “Yeah, I mean, she’s a very aggressive player. I think she’s known for that.
“So I guess I wouldn’t say there’s a Plan B for me because if I was more defensive and tried to put balls on the court, I don’t think that was also an option because she likes to step in and take control.
“So I think the best shot for me was to try to restrict her from opening the court as much as I possibly could let her.
“But then again, she can create openings out of really difficult shots. So I mean, that’s really great tennis from her.
“Yeah, I think just trying to stay toe to toe with her in rallies and try to push her back as much as possible was kind of my goal. But yeah…”
While 19-year-old Mboko can hold her head really high after a superb Australian Open run, Sabalenka now meets another teenager in Melbourne.
Her quarterfinal opponent is 18-year-old Iva Jovic, who has the perfect chance to exact revenge for Mboko, her doubles partner in Melbourne.
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