Aryna Sabalenka, 25, expressed her continued amazement at successfully defending her Australian Open crown, quipping that perhaps always speaking with Tennis greats like Djokovic could be her secret weapon. Having clinched her first Grand Slam victory at the 2023 Australian Open, Sabalenka returned to the iconic Melbourne Park venue this year as the reigning champion, ultimately clinching her second consecutive Grand Slam title. What’s more, she achieved this feat with an impressive record of not dropping a single set throughout the entire two-week tournament.
“I’m still shocked I was able to win back-to-back Australian Open. It’s a dream. Yeah, I couldn’t even dream about that, so…” Sabalenka admitted during her pre-tournament press conference in Dubai.
In December 2022, Sabalenka and Djokovic teamed up for the same franchise at the World Tennis League in Abu Dhabi. Just a month later, Sabalenka secured her maiden Grand Slam victory at the Australian Open. When questioned whether she sought advice from Djokovic on her consecutive Australian Open triumphs and the possibility of matching his remarkable tally of 10 titles Down Under, Sabalenka light-heartedly deflected the query, indicating that their conversations didn’t touch upon that particular subject.
In November 2019, Sabalenka’s father Sergey passed away unexpectedly. Prior to his death, Sabalenka pledged to win a minimum of two Grand Slam titles before reaching the age of 25. Just four months shy of her 26th birthday, Sabalenka clinched her second Grand Slam title, thus honoring the commitment she made to her late father.
“My mindset is to keep doing what I’m doing, keep fighting, keep working. After my career, to look back and think, Whoa, I was able to achieve that. That’s crazy,” Sabalenka said.
“I’m not the type person that is going to win something and stop. Like I said, I’m addicted to wins. I felt like it’s just something in my blood and I keep doing, keep working, and hopefully keep winning.”
“I always enjoy fighting, kind of like enjoy trying to get it instead of get it easily, if I can say that. I like to fight for wins.”
When Sabalenka takes on Vekic, she will officially be kicking off her seventh main draw appearance in Dubai. In the past, Sabalenka reached the Dubai quarterfinals in 2020, 2021 and 2023.
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