“It's not about the surface”: Aryna Sabalenka highlights reason behind defeat in Madrid Open final to Iga Swiatek

Thursday, 09 May 2024 at 09:45

World number two Aryna Sabalenka believes that it is not about which player is better on a certain court as she talked about her recent defeat in the Madrid Open final. The 26-year-old suffered a heartbreaking defeat to the current world number one Iga Swiatek in the final of the recently concluded WTA 1000 event in the Spanish capital with a score of 7-5, 4-6, 7-6.

Talking about the contest, the two-time Grand Slam winner admitted that every player likes playing on a certain kind of court but believes that it is not all about which court you are playing on.

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She stated that more often than not, it is about what you do when there is an important point to be won, something that became clear during the final of the Madrid Open as well where Swiatek was just better in crucial moments.

"Well, I mean, obviously Iga [Swiatek] is much better on clay than me, for example. I would say Elena [Rybakina] is better on grass. I'm maybe a little bit better on hard court," she said.

"At the same time I cannot say that it's all about the surface. I mean, as the time shows, I can beat them on clay, on hard, on grass. It's not about the surface, I would say. It's about honestly in each match couple of key moments where, like, probably she played better.

Aryna Sabalenka suffered a defeat in the final of the Madrid Open to Poland's Iga Swiatek.

"For example, last match with Iga [Swiatek], I wouldn't say on those important points I did something wrong, it's just I was doing the right thing, but she was doing it better little bit. It's just about little things.

"It's not about the surface. It's a process. You learn from that little mistakes you made during the match, then you go and work on them, you try better next time. It's just little improvements, like little percentage better every day. Hope for the better result.”

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3 - In the last 40 years, only Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert faced each other more often (4 times) as World No. 1 and No. 2 on clay court than Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka (3, in the final at the Madrid Open). Rendez-vous. #MMOPEN | @MutuaMadridOpen @WTA @WTA_insider

9:55 PM · May 2, 2024

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Azeem Siddiqui

Azeem Siddiqui is a seasoned sports journalist and data analyst with a strong background in both digital media and live sports production.

He began his journalism career working with partners of The New York Times and has since contributed to several leading international sports publications, including Fox Sports Asia, Calciomercato, and GiveMeSport. Since 2023, Azeem has been part of the TennisUpToDate team, where he has played a key role in sustaining the platform’s growth and ensuring tennis fans receive timely and reliable coverage of the sport’s biggest stories.

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