New York (AFP) – It has been more than a decade since the US Open had a repeat women’s champion, but world number one Aryna Sabalenka heads into her title defense at Flushing Meadows aiming to buck that trend. “My thought is to change that,” the Belarusian star said Friday as she spoke to reporters at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, where the final Grand Slam of the season begins on Sunday. “But, wow, that’s insane, you know, how unpredictable women’s tennis is, right? Should we change it? Should we try at least to change it?”
The last woman to win back-to-back US Open titles was Serena Williams, who won three in a row from 2012 through 2014. Sabalenka said the pressure to repeat at a Slam is intense, but magnified in the boisterous atmosphere of New York. “I think it’s a lot of pressure, definitely,” she said. “Just because this place is so big, and it feels bigger than the other Slams in some ways. Maybe every time defending champions come and they put so much pressure on themselves. But I feel like I’m experienced enough to just focus on myself and try to replicate that result.”
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Sabalenka, 27, says she has grown to love the hubbub of the US Open after finding her early forays in New York “really confusing.” “The first times I was coming here, it was, I felt, too big and I felt like the goal is so far, and a lot of work has to be done before I will be able to achieve my dream. Maybe the last five or six years, I feel so comfortable and I enjoy a lot this tournament. There is something special about (the) US Open. Like the atmosphere in the stadium is insane. The support, people who come watch you play — it’s just an incredible place.”
Sabalenka said she’s hoping she can call on the “tough lessons” she learned this year to pull off the repeat and retain the number one ranking that is under threat if she doesn’t. She fell in the Australian Open final in an agonizing end to a bid for a historic three-peat in Melbourne. A French Open final loss and a semi-final exit at Wimbledon followed. “Well, of course ideally I would love to finish the season with a Grand Slam and world number one,” she said. “But I think if this goal is not going to be achieved, I’ll still think that this season’s been really amazing for me. All of those tough lessons that I learned this season are only going to make me stronger for the next one. I’ll work even harder in the pre-season to make sure next year (is) going to be only (a) year of success, like truly success.”
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