TENNIS: Sabalenka hopes to be 'grandma' of the women's tour

MELBOURNE — World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has been impressed by the longevity of Novak Djokovic and other veteran men’s players, and she hopes to one day become the “grandma” of women’s tennis.

At 27, the Belarusian star has already won four Grand Slam titles and is the favorite to claim her third Australian Open crown. She reached the fourth round for the sixth straight year on Friday.

Djokovic is still competing at a high level at 38, while 40-year-old Stan Wawrinka drew attention on Thursday with a powerful five-set win to reach the third round in the men’s singles.

Sabalenka admitted she still has a long way to go before she reaches that level, but she likes the idea of a long career, even as a playing mother.

“I feel like there is no age anymore in sport,” she told reporters after beating Anastasia Potapova at Rod Laver Arena. “It depends on how you approach everything and if you have a smart team around you.”

“So I feel like your career can be extended for — I don’t know how many years.”

“Ideally for me, I would love to maybe have kids at 32 or something. But knowing me, I know that I love to accept tough challenges. So I feel like even after having kids, I would love to challenge myself, like coming back and seeing if I still have it.”

“So probably we’re going to see me being that grandma on tour trying. Hopefully, I’ll be pushing these young girls.”

Sabalenka’s 7-6(4), 7-6(7) win over Potapova set up a potential matchup with one of the most exciting young talents in women’s tennis — Canada’s 19-year-old Victoria Mboko, who eliminated 14th seed Clara Tauson.

In her Australian Open debut, Mboko reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time and will face Sabalenka in their first career meeting.

Sabalenka also reflected on how she struggled with emotions early in her career, but she believes the new generation of players is better at handling pressure and success at a young age.

“I feel like maybe for me it would be really tough to handle success at a young age,” she said. “But now seeing these girls, at such a young age achieving so much, playing great tennis, being really mature — it’s incredible.”

“I feel like they mature much faster than I did.”

-Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford/Reuters