Aryna Sabalenka fought tooth and nail to survive the brink of defeat against young American Cori Gauff at the 2020 Ostrava Open.
After struggling for 2 hours 13 minutes, the third seed managed to avenge the defeat two months ago to Gauff after winning their second round encounter in the Ostrava Open this season with a tight result 1-6, 7-5, 7-6.
In the same round at the Lexington Open in August, Gauff beat the Belarusian national by 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 after 2 hours 48 minutes, in what was the longest game in a young American career to date. Entering this meeting, he looks like he will repeat the victory at the Lexington Open.
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But the third seed proved to be a stronger player at the end of the match, which was seen when he bounced back from 2-5 in the decisive set to dictate the tiebreaker and took advantage of Gauff’s serve which suddenly faltered towards the end of the match.
“I can say that the level of the game this time is really at a good level compared to the last time I met him,” admitted Aryna Sabalenka.
“After our last meeting, I knew there would be long rallies and short balls, and I had to stay aggressive and not be afraid to advance to the net. He’s a great player, so young, and he’s moving really well. Every time we get into long rallies and it’s not easy to hit winners or find a way to finish the points against them. I mean, he is very reliable. He is only 16 years old and he is playing at that level. I want to play at that level when I am 16 years old.”
The tennis player who has collected six titles stated that controlling his emotions was the key to his victory and it is a process he is still working on.
“I’m still learning the same lessons. I have to understand how to stay in the race by controlling my emotions. Once I got it under control, I played really well. Once I focus on each point, I focus on my game,” explained Sabalenka.
“When I think too much about the outcome or what will happen then I will be in trouble. I will try to think about something positive, then replenish my energy. Told myself after each point to focus on this point and forget about the previous one. I kept telling myself that and it really helped me. If I drop points or vice versa, I stay in the moment. I still have to train him.”
After spending just 22 minutes getting through the first set, including winning 77 percent of the points from his first serve, Gauff had to lose the fourth of his last four three sets. This is certainly disappointing, so it is difficult for him to find a positive performance.
“I really don’t like losing. I have to play a little bit smarter at crucial points and get my opponents to play more. Sometimes I was in a rush to finish points when I should have returned the ball,” said Gauff.
Standing between Aryna Sabalenka and a place in the semi-finals of the Ostrava Open is Spanish qualifier Sara Sorribes Tormo, who beat eighth seed Anett Kontaveit 6-1, 6-4.
