TENNIS: Opponents have nothing to lose, says top seed Sabalenka

MELBOURNE — World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka said she will not take anything for granted in the third round of the Australian Open, even though she has an unblemished record against both of her possible opponents at Melbourne Park.

The four-time Grand Slam champion advanced after a 6-3, 6-1 win over China’s Bai Zhuoxuan on Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday. Sabalenka will next face either former U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu or Austria’s Anastasia Potapova.

Sabalenka has won all three of her previous encounters with Raducanu and has beaten Potapova in both of their past meetings.

“I never focus on the past,” said Sabalenka, the Melbourne Park champion in 2023 and 2024. “It doesn’t matter what the head-to-head looks like. It’s always a new match, always a new battle. Every player is getting better, improving.

“And also when you go against the top-ranking player, you have nothing to lose, so you play more freely, and they always bring their best battle, which I love.

“I look at each match as a new match, a new opportunity. I have also been working really hard. For me, it doesn’t matter what was in the past.

“Obviously I’m going to watch their match and see if there are any changes, and we will move from there.”

Sabalenka experienced a brief rough patch late in the first set before finishing strongly against Bai.

The 27-year-old appeared on track to cruise into the next round after racing to a 5-0 lead in the first set, only for the world No. 702 to fight back.

Although Sabalenka eventually regained control and secured a straight-sets victory, she admitted the match was tougher than expected.

“She didn’t start well, but then she had the strength to step in and change a couple of things and put me under pressure,” Sabalenka said. “That was really impressive.

“Throughout the match, it seemed like she didn’t really care about the score. She would just try to find something that would help her win the match. That was really cool to see.” -Reporting by Michael Church, Editing by Peter Rutherford/Reuters