"The funniest one was from Djokovic": Sabalenka received message from fellow new World No.1 after US Open

Newly-crowned world number one Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka has revealed that the funniest congratulatory message she received was from Serbia’s Novak Djokovic.

The 25-year-old dethroned Poland’s Iga Swiatek from the top spot in the WTA rankings after registering a win against Russia’s Daria Kasatkina in the round of 16 of the US Open 2023 with a score of 6-1, 6-3 on Monday.

On the other hand, Swiatek’s journey in the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year was cut short by Latvia’s Jeļena Ostapenko who defeated her in the fourth round with a score of 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Sabalenka, while talking to the media, revealed that she received a lot of congratulatory messages after becoming the world number one but the funniest was from the 23-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic.

"I found out this morning," she said. "I just opened my phone and I was just like, 'Guys, I have a match today, I have things to take care of. Thank you so much for all the support, for all the messages.'

"I didn't ask for any of the messages because I was trying to stay focused on the game, [not] let this news distract me. I answered everybody only now. I got a lot of messages, a lot of support from a lot of people and players.

“The funniest one was from Djokovic because he also will become world No. 1 after the US Open. Someone mentioned us with these funny sunglasses from the US Open. He just sent me like, 'Smile if you will become world No. 1 soon.' It was the funniest one, I would say."

Sabalenka will be hoping to celebrate the number one spot in the WTA rankings by winning the US Open, something she has never done before.

Her best outing while playing at the Flashing Medows was reaching the semifinal in the years 2021 and 2022. Sabalenka will now face China’s Qinwen Zheng in the quarterfinal of the US Open on Wednesday.