"It's more enjoyable for fans to watch": Sabalenka relishes potential long-term rivalry with Swiatek

Aryna Sabalenka is enjoying battling Iga Swiatek on a tennis court and she feels like the growing rivalry could be good for tennis and fun for tennis fans.

Rivalries in tennis make everything about the experience so much better because there is an added flavour to the whole thing. The big three were spectacular tennis players but they were also great rivals. We don't have such a rivalry on the WTA side right now but we might with Sabalenka and Swiatek as they continue to produce amazing battles on the court.

Sabalenka likes it too:

"I think that's something amazing. I think women's tennis needs this kind of consistency to see world No. 1 and world No. 2 facing in the finals. It's more enjoyable for fans to watch and it's more intense. I'm not saying that it's not intense with the rest of the players anyway."

She added:

"If a player reach the final, it means that he's in a good shape and it's going to be tough. But I think when people see these kind of finals, it makes them want to see it, you know, like want to see this battle. That's something amazing, and hopefully we can keep doing what we are doing this season."

Sabalenka also revealed how she kept herself motivated in the match:

"I was thinking when I was down with the break in the last game, I was thinking, okay, I did it at the Australian Open, so probably I will be able to get this win this time again. It's actually help me to stay focused and to have this belief in myself. Yeah, definitely this match reminds a lot of Australian Open match."