Aryna Sabalenka enjoys Wimbledon reset ahead of Ekaterina Alexandrova rematch

FLASHBACK: Sabalenka looked her strongest to start her Wimbledon campaign earlier this week.

From the highs of her first round to the lows of her second, Aryna Sabalenka approached true neutral to reach the second week of Wimbledon for the second time in three years, navigating a few long games and minor momentum swings to ultimately outhit Anna Blinkova, 6-2, 6-3.

“Yesterday I kind of tried to adjust to the court. It's still a little bit different,” she said, comparing No. 1 Court to Centre, where she began her campaign in more emphatic fashion.
“Yeah, today I knew all the little things on the court. I felt like everything was under control.”

Sabalenka didn’t have things entirely her own way: a quick start nearly turned disastrous as Blinkova, a former junior Wimbledon finalist fresh off a breakthrough Roland Garros that featured a career-best win over No. 5 Caroline Garcia, rallied from 0-3, 15-40 down to get the set back on serve.

Where some panic set in when she trailed Varvara Gracheva by a set and 5-4 on Friday, Sabalenka was a full 24 hours wiser and dealt far better with her looming inconsistencies to reel off the next four games and win the opening set.

A titanic seventh game decided second: the world No. 2 shook fought through eight deuces to consolidate the break against Blinkova and serve out her spot in the second week in just over 80 minutes, striking 30 winners to 26 unforced errors.

This stage of a Slam tournament often spooked Sabalenka early in her career and she failed to reach the quarterfinals of her first 17 major main draws.

Before I tried to ignore these thoughts in my head. Now…I'm not trying to fight this thought. I'm just working through it. Aryna Sabalenka

“Before I tried to ignore these thoughts in my head,” she explained on Saturday. “Now…I'm not trying to fight this thought. I'm just working through it, trying to focus on my game, trying to tell myself that if I'm going to focus on my game and I'm going to be there consistently on a high level, I'm going to win this one.

“It's helping to stay focused in the moment.”

It took a thrilling three sets at Wimbledon against future champion Elena Rybakina in 2021 for the now-25-year-old to begin playing her best tennis where it matters most.

“I have really great memories from here. It was my first breakthrough. I was very, very emotional.

“Not emotional,” she clarifies. “I was very happy two years ago to be able to get to the second week.”

Second weeks are indeed old hat for the reigning Australian Open champ, who has become far better at playing through patchier moments to see herself to the finish line. Staying in the present, Sabalenka has at least one eye on the future as she prepares to face rival Ekaterina Alexandrova for what would be a fourth straight Grand Slam quarterfinal. The big-hitting No. 21 seed can match Sabalenka’s speed—if not weight—of shot, and won their most recent grass-court meeting in ‘s-Hertogenbosch last summer.

“I think the main thing is if I'm going to focus on myself,” she repeats, “I'm going to fight for every point, don't go crazy on court, like play with belief in myself, I think I have huge chances to win that match.”

Alexandrova finds herself in a position not too dissimilar to Sabalenka a few years ago; while an obvious talent, the Russian has yet to string together the requisite wins to enjoy a deep run at a major, reaching the fourth round for only the first time in 25 tries at this very tournament.

“I don't think anymore about second week of the Grand Slam, you know?” admits Sabalenka. “I kind of felt a little relief after that breakthrough.”

Still, Sabalenka will aim to prevent Alexandrova from making a breakthrough of her own on Monday.