Aryna Sabalenka has finally got her clay-court season underway, collecting a fine straight-sets victory over Peyton Stearns in Madrid.
It marked the Belarusian’s first match of the campaign on the dirt, as she kick-starts her title defence in the Spanish capital.
However, being the ultimate champion that she is, the routine nature of this win was not enough.
Speaking afterwards with Tennis Channel, Aryna Sabalenka was keen to outline a handful of areas of her game that still need improving if she is to mirror her strong form on clay from last season.
Aryna Sabalenka reviews her first win of the season on clay
The world number one began by briefly touching on that win over Stearns.
Sabalenka admitted: “Yeah, that was a crazy first round.
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“I knew that it was not going to be easy. I feel like this court suits her game perfectly, and it’s always a battle against her.”
She would then outline what was toughest about the result, adding: “I’d say that the biggest challenge was to find the rhythm and with this altitude, it was kind of like a little bit of my body was a little bit off, but I’m just gonna work a little bit extra tomorrow and hopefully in the next round I’ll play better tennis.”
Sabalenka laughed as she briefly spoke about her serve and volley, which had worked well throughout the match, before discussing some areas of improvement she feels are needed.
“I want to definitely improve my movement,” she began. “Find a better rhythm on my serve, on the return.
“I just want to find my game and be more… be in a better rhythm, you know?”
Sabalenka joined Serena Williams and Iga Swiatek in an elite group after yesterday’s win in Madrid, putting her alongside some legendary company on the clay.
What is Aryna Sabalenka’s career record on clay?
Unsurprisingly, given how dominant Sabalenka has been for years now, she doesn’t really have a bad surface.
After all, whilst hard courts are clearly her favourite, reaching the finals of the last seven Grand Slam events on this surface, clay and grass are not far behind.
Last year alone saw her also reach the final of Roland Garros, before losing narrowly to Amanda Anisimova in the semi-finals at Wimbledon.
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Unsurprisingly, due to it being the least used surface, Sabalenka’s record on grass is the worst, but her 66% win rate is still impressive.
And, it is only narrowly worse than the 67% win rate she boasts on the dirt.
Sabalenka also won the Madrid Open last year.
