The current
champions of the 2024 Australian Open,
Novak Djokovic and
Aryna Sabalenka, took
part in a charity mixed doubles activity at the Rod Laver Arena, creating a fun
moment as they prepared for Sabalenka's serve.
Their
opponents were the Greeks
Stefanos Tsitsipas and
Maria Sakkari, in an
entertaining match where the players had microphones to provide live commentary
while playing. During Sabalenka's serve, Djokovic asked her to pay close
attention to the gestures he was making, alluding to the type of play they
would execute.
However,
the WTA world No. 2 didn't quite understand the message. So, Djokovic started
moving his backside at the net, creating a humorous moment where Sabalenka
joked about the "beautiful view," and their opponent Sakkari also
chimed in with a comment, mentioning that Sabalenka's boyfriend, Konstantin
Kolstov, might not be pleased with the situation.
DJOKOVIC:
I'm gonna show you a couple of signals, you know? *Gestures with his fingers at
the net*
SABALENKA:
Can people help me understand what he's showing? Wow, what a beautiful view I
have! *as Djokovic wiggles his butt at the net*
SAKKARI:
I'm sure your boyfriend won't be happy with that!
SABALENKA:
I hope he's not gonna watch it!
Sabalenka
aims to defend the title
In her
first tournament of the year, Sabalenka reached the final of the Brisbane
International, delivering several dominant performances along the way, losing
only 15 games in four matches. However, she faced Elena Rybakina in the final,
a rematch of the 2023 Aussie Open final. This time, the Kazakhstani player
secured the title with a convincing 6-0, 6-3 victory.
The current
world No. 2 must put aside the adverse result and focus on defending her title
in Melbourne. Sabalenka relinquished the No. 1 ranking at the end of the year
to Swiatek. With the 2000 points from the Australian Open to defend, even if
she successfully retains the title, Sabalenka won't be able to add points in
the first Grand Slam of the year. This situation provides Swiatek with a good
opportunity to extend her lead over Sabalenka, who needs a strong performance
to keep pace with the Polish player.