"Not scared of this surface anymore" - Sabalenka after Madrid Open title

Aryna Sabalenka produced a ferocious performance in the Madrid Open final to defeat Ashleigh Barty lifting her maiden clay-court title.

It was a fabulous match that saw Sabalenka crowned as the Madrid Open champion following her win over Barty 6-0 3-6 6-4. It was somewhat of a surprise considering Barty was riding an impressive clay-court win streak but after the match Sabalenka said:

"I'm not really scared of this surface any more. Before I was too much thinking about the clay court, that this is surface not for me, that it's really tough to play on this surface, it's long rallies. I was really too much thinking about this. This year I relaxed and just play my game. I worked a lot on the movement, so I prepare myself really well for the clay court."

The increased comfortability on the surface was clearly visible this week but even in the previous week. Sabalenka played well and reached the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix losing to Barty in three sets. The credit goes to her coach with Aryna explaining:

"Before on the clay court, I tried to change my game a little bit. I tried to play with the topspin, slice, all this stuff. [My coach] said, Listen, you don't need to change your game. Of course, it's good that you can use a little bit more spin on the ball, have this variation. You just have to stay aggressive here and be ready that the ball will come back a little bit more than on a hard court. It's just about little bit longer rallies."

Sabalenka played extremely well especially early when she gifted Barty a bagel set which was only her 8th in her professional career and first in four years. On the match Sabalenka said:

"I think what I did really well here, I stayed focused from the beginning till the end. I was putting her under the pressure, especially in the end of the third set. In those key moments, I was a little bit more aggressive. That's what really helped me to win this match."