Aryna Sabalenka will continue her conquest for a maiden WTA Finals crown later today, having beaten Coco Gauff with relative ease yesterday.
It marked yet another rock-solid performance from the world number one, who once again overcame adversity in the first set as she continued her stellar tiebreak record.
Then, once she had established daylight between herself and the top-ranked American, the result seemed like a foregone conclusion.
For Coco Gauff, this marked yet another disappointing outing, with her outstanding and well-documented issues once again emerging. Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka continues to go from strength to strength, and spoke about her unflinching mentality immediately after the win.
Aryna Sabalenka reacts to beating Coco Gauff at the WTA Finals
Speaking to CoCo Vandeweghe with Tennis Channel courtside, the Belarusian began by reflecting on past struggles at this event, noting: “I feel great, you know.
“I feel like every year I would play, I would lose at least one match in the round-robin, and this year I came and I took this tournament as a regular tournament, and I go on that court, I try to fight, I try to bring my best tennis, and I’m super happy to get this win in straight sets.”
Then asked how she managed to turn things around, sat 4-1 down in the first set with Gauff serving, Sabalenka admitted: “I was already preparing for the second set, to be honest.
“I was just trying to find the rhythm on her serve, and I was just trying to, just trying to fight, you know? And then somehow I was able to turn around things, and I think that game gave me, like, an extra boost of energy and belief that I can still win this set and yeah, and I did it.”
Vandeweghe was keen to remind Sabalenka of the financial benefits that going unbeaten at the WTA Finals can bring, with an extra $5.235 million promised if she now goes on to win the event after a perfect round-robin.
Despite this huge allure, she insisted: “No, I never think about this thing when I play matches. I just have a lot of love for this sport, and I really enjoy competing.
“And of course, these checks are a great bonus to have, but I think my main priority is just to bring my best and make sure people enjoy watching tennis, and that’s it.”
What is Aryna Sabalenka’s head-to-head record vs Amanda Anisimova?
Sabalenka has said what she’s hoping happens in her WTA Finals match with Amanda Anisimova, but it really feels impossible to call.
After all, history offers little indication, particularly with their most recent results.
The American has enjoyed the best year of her career thus far, as a two-time Grand Slam finalist.
However, the second of her two finals came against Sabalenka in New York, where she was once again toppled in straight sets.
Just months before that though, Anisimova gained arguably one of the wins of her career as she overcame the Belarusian in the Wimbledon semi-finals.
Their head-to-head is currently six wins to four in favour of the American, but their last five meetings have seen them alternate victories.
Regardless, it promises to be a bruising, big-hitting affair between two of the sport’s most in-form players.
