Australian Open: Sabalenka banishes serving yips to emerge as title contender

By Sports Desk January 19, 2023

Aryna Sabalenka was stuck in the biggest crisis of her tennis career 12 months ago, but the Belarusian big-hitter has found light at the end of a dark tunnel.

In a second-round win over Wang Xinyu at the 2022 Australian Open, Sabalenka served 19 double faults, and it was remarkable that she still pulled off the victory.

But it was no blip. In four matches, stretching from the 2021 WTA Finals to two tournaments in Adelaide at the beginning of the 2022 season, Sabalenka served a total of 74 double faults.

She considered it a success in round three at the Australian Open when she served 10 double faults against Marketa Vondrousova, such was the extent of her problem.

"I think it's more mental," Sabalenka said at the time, "because I put a lot of pressure on myself about my serve, and the last matches I was trying to control everything on my serve; my legs, my arm, the ball toss. And it was overthinking."

A year on, and Sabalenka is looking a different player, one that perhaps might finally be ready to win a singles grand slam.

That breakthrough might come this fortnight, with Sabalenka in scintillating form on Thursday as she beat Shelby Rogers 6-3 6-1 on Rod Laver Arena.

And here's the thing: she served three aces and not one double fault.

The yips have been cured.

"I worked a lot on my serve," said the 24-year-old after the Rogers match. "Like, really a lot. You can't even imagine how much I worked. I'm just super happy right now that everything is working.

"Oh, my God, I did almost everything to try to fix my serve. The whole year we were trying different things mentally, mental stuff, technique, technical, trying to breathe differently.

"I tried a lot. I watched a lot of different videos, from when I had no problems, when I had problems, trying to understand what is different."

Sabalenka had three double faults in her first-round win over Tereza Martincova, but three is fine, normal even. Zero in round two is something special.

The fifth seed will tackle Belgium's Elise Mertens on Saturday for a place in the last 16, knowing she managed to make it through to round four last year with a malfunctioning game.

The sky is the limit for Sabalenka if the serve is reliable. A three-time slam semi-finalist, her all-round numbers against Rogers were good, with 32 winners against 18 unforced errors a healthy ratio.

She reached the title match at the WTA Finals in November, a big moment at the end of a challenging year. Now a bigger goal is in her sights.

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    Sinner improved his record over Fritz to 3-1 with a 6-4 6-4 victory in Turin, going level with Alexander Zverev with a Tour-leading 67th victory of the season. 

    The Italian now sits at the top of the Ilie Nastase Group after two games, and faces Daniil Medvedev on Thursday, with the Russian beating Alex de Minaur in straight sets. 

     

    "It was a very tough match. We got to know each other from a grand slam final," Sinner said. 

    "We knew exactly what to expect today. He was very aggressive, but I was prepared too. I just tried to serve well in the important moments.

    "In the return positions, his quality of tennis was very, very high, so I was struggling to return his serve, but I was happy with the situation. 

    "It was a very important day for me today, and I'm very happy that I got through."

    Sinner fought off tough resistance from Fritz in front of a home crowd in Turin, hitting 22 winners compared to his opponent's 19.

    Fritz had initially earned the first break point of the match, but was unable to make it count before fighting back from 0-40 to level the first set at 4-4.

    Sinner ultimately piled the pressure on to win the first set and capitalised on a double fault in the second to break Fritz and win. Fritz will now face de Minaur on Thursday.

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    Jannik Sinner continued his quest to end his stellar season with the ATP Finals title after downing Taylor Fritz in straight-sets to earn his second win of the tournament. 

    Sinner emerged a 6-4 6-4 victor in an hour and 40 minutes in Turin, with his latest triumph improving his record to 7-0 on indoor hard courts in 2024. 

    The Italian showed his intentions with a love service game to open the first set, but was matched by his American opponent, who was also looking to maintain his perfect start. 

    Sinner missed four break points in the eighth game, but made no mistake in Fritz's following service game to claim the early advantage in Turin. 

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    The American exchanged in another pulsating rally with his opponent, but sent a backhand wide to send Sinner through and to the top of the Ilie Nastase Group after two matches.

    Up next for Sinner is Daniil Medvedev, who beat Alex de Minaur earlier on Tuesday, while Fritz will face the Australian on Thursday. 

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    "So I went into this match thinking, if I lose I go home on Thursday for sure and if I win then I have the chance to have a good feeling. I tried to hit some shots and it worked well and I'm ok with it.

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    Medvedev will seek to bolster his hopes of progressing from the John Newcombe Group when he takes on Jannik Sinner next, with the Italian in action against Fritz later on Tuesday. 

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    Medvedev kept his hopes of sealing a second ATP Finals crown alive with a composed display against De Minaur, improving his record to 45-19 for the season. 

    While the Russian produced more unforced errors (18) than De Minaur (15), Medvedev showed his quality by hitting 24 winners, 14 of which came with his forehand. 

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