Aryna Sabalenka booked her place in the US Open quarter-finals with a victory in straight sets over Cristina Bucsa on Sunday, and subsequently denied any suggestions she is “playing not to lose” in her title defence.Sabalenka dispatched the Spaniard 6-1 6-4 in one hour and 14 minutes with a dominant display in front of the Louis Armstrong crowd to set up a clash with 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova.
And the defending US Open champion issued a staunch response when it was suggested in her on-court interview that she could be prioritising avoiding defeat, rather than attacking matches and going for victory.
“I’m not playing not to lose, I play to win,” Sabalenka said. “I don’t care about what happened last year.
“I mean, of course it’s a big achievement, and I’m super happy I was able to achieve it once, but the goal is to do it many more times.”
“My mentality is to go out there every time, bring the best fighting spirit, and just fight for my dream.”
‘Incredible achievement’ Sabalenka says about being in 11th straight Grand Slam quarter-final
Video credit: SNTV
The US Open represents Sabalenka’s final chance of securing a Grand Slam title this year, after she fell just short in the Australian Open and French Open finals, before crashing out of Wimbledon with a semi-final defeat.
The top seed was in total control throughout against Bucsa, not facing a single break point.
After trading holds for 2-1, Sabalenka soon exerted real pressure on the world No. 35 with a quick-fire double break, allowing her to take the opening set without much in the way of a reply.
While the second was altogether more competitive, Sabalenka’s world-leading credentials were still firmly on display.
She took what turned out to be a decisive break and a 4-2 lead. Her hopes of concluding the night in rapid fashion were stunted somewhat by a 19-point game in which she looked to clinch a double-break, but it did not quite come off as Bucsa eventually held for 4-3.
But the Spaniard could not make any inroads on Sabalenka’s serve, with the Belarusian seeing through the victory to reach a 12th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final – a fifth in succession at Flushing Meadows.
On the feat, Sabalenka commented: “I’m super proud. I think that’s an incredible achievement. I think for me, the key was balancing on and off-the-court life.
“I think I’ve done a great job on balancing really hard work and also great recovery and some fun time outside of the tennis court. I think that’s been the key.”
She will face Voundrousova – the Czech former Wimbledon champion who has upset No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini and No. 9 seed Elena Rybakina in New York so far – on Tuesday.
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