Kaia Kanepi of Estonia admits that her hands were shaking when she faced world number 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the fourth round of the 2022 Australian Open.
The world number 115 surprisingly managed to beat second seed Sabalenka in three sets to set foot in the Australian Open quarter-finals.
“I feel really congested. My hands were shaking when I started serving. I didn’t make it with my first serve and that added to the pressure,” Kaia Kanepi admitted.
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“First, I tried to shoot serves a little bit stronger with more laps. Then the service doesn’t come in. Then I started hitting a little slower. I tried a few different things to think about things other than serving, but I don’t think any of that helps.”
“I can barely compile my strength and think I was lucky enough at the end.”
After failing to convert her two consecutive break point opportunities in the 11th game of the first set. The world number 115 lost her serve in the next game as Belarusian Sabalenka won a fierce first set.
Even so, the Estonian responded well to her first set loss when she started the second by getting consecutive breaks before forcing the decider after winning the eighth game of the second set.
Entering the decider, the world number 115 claimed a second break in the ninth game. But failed to close the match in the next game as second seed Sabalenka fought her way out to secure four match point opportunities to make it 5-5 before having to enter tie-break.
Appearing in the decisive tiebreak, the two players fought back and forth until it was tied at 7/7 before Kanepi won three points in a row to book a place in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
The next challenge that will be faced by the Estonian national tennis player is the French tennis player, Alize Cornet.
“I’ve never seen it. I’ve never played against him and I don’t know how the ball goes. So, we’ll see when I play against him. What I hope for is to play well,” Kanepi said.
