Aryna Sabalenka could never previously have been accused of being "boring", but she now wears that tag as a badge of honour and believes it can lead to Australian Open glory.
The world number five from Belarus has found a way to control her previously volatile emotions, cured her torrid serving yips through persistent hard work, and an elusive grand slam might soon be coming her way.
Sabalenka won 6-2 6-3 against Belgian Elise Mertens in an hour and 14 minutes on Margaret Court Arena on Saturday, delivering another dominant performance that means she has yet to drop a set this year.
That includes a fuss-free run to the Adelaide International 1 title and a brisk dash through the opening three rounds at Melbourne Park. She is 14-0 for sets in 2023, and this new version of Sabalenka faces Olympic champion Belinda Bencic next for a place in the quarter-finals.
Sabalenka's talent has never been in doubt, but her temperament has been a sticking point.
Asked what had been key to her sauntering untroubled through the opening rounds this year, Sabalenka said: "I think my calmness on the court. That's pretty much it. I was just ready for everything. Whatever's going to happen on court, I'm ready for that. I think this is the key.
"I wish I would have been like that a few years ago. Finally, I understand what everyone was looking for and asking for.
"I need to be a little bit boring on court. It's still about a lot of positive emotions for me, but I'm trying to stay away from negative and just fight for every point."
She is fighting the inclination to throw her racket and scream when moments go against her, and says staving off the dark thoughts is becoming "a little bit more natural right now".
Last year, Sabalenka served at least 10 double faults in each of her three opening matches in Melbourne, coming from a set down to win each time, before bowing out in round four after a wild tussle with Kaia Kanepi.
Iga Swiatek remains the title favourite with the bookmakers this year, but Sabalenka is second on that list.
"About being the favourite, I don't know," the 24-year-old said. "I mean, it's really good that I'm there, but I better focus on myself, on my game, make sure that my dream will happen."
She is allowing herself to dream, but not to become carried away, knowing this has been her undoing in the past.
"I just have to stay the same, because before, in the second week, I remember I was getting nervous, I was overthinking, over-dreaming," Sabalenka said. "I really believed and believe that the only one thing that was missing was my emotions, that I was too emotional on court.
"I really believe if I'm going to keep the same mindset, the same calm on court, I really believe that I can get it."
Bencic is also enjoying a terrific start to the year, winning the Adelaide International 2 tournament and easing through her opening Australian Open tests.
The Swiss has a new coach in Dmitry Tursunov, and the link-up with the Russian, who briefly worked with Emma Raducanu last season, is bearing fruit.
Sabalenka knows the threat that lies ahead, saying of Bencic: "She's a great fighter, a great player, moving well, hitting the ball quite clean.
"I feel like I have to stay really aggressive in the first few shots, and then the slower ball or shorter ball will come.
"I think it's all about fast feet on the first few shots. I have to be like really a tiger, stay low and ready for that."
Rafael Nadal has confirmed his impending retirement from tennis.
The Spanish superstar will end his remarkable playing career after the Davis Cup Finals, which take place in Malaga in November.
Only Margaret Court, Novak Djokovic (24 each) and Serena Williams (23) have won more Singles Grand Slam titles than Nadal (22), but he has been plagued by injury in recent seasons.
In a message released on his official social media channels on Thursday, Nadal said: "I am here to let you know I am retiring from professional tennis.
"The reality is that it has been some difficult years, the last two especially.
"I don't think I have been able to play without limitations."
Nadal confirmed previously that 2024 would likely be his final year on ATP Tour circuit and he has featured in just seven tournaments this season.
He remarkably reached the Swedish Open final in Bastad, only to lose to Nuno Borges, after competing at the French Open for the final time.
Nadal has won a record 14 titles at Roland-Garros, with the last of those coming in 2022.
He will retire as a four-time US Open champion and a two-time winner at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
Nadal has not featured in a singles match since he lost to old foe Djokovic at the Paris Olympics in August.
Along with Djokovic and Roger Federer, Nadal is one of only three players in the Open Era to have played and won over 300 men's singles Grand Slam matches. Nadal bows out with a major record of 314 wins from 358 matches.
His retirement, which comes on the back of Andy Murray calling it a day earlier this year, means that, of the "big four" that dominated men's tennis for over a decade, only Djokovic now remains.
Sinner downs Medvedev to reach Shanghai semi-final
Jannik Sinner marched into the last four of the Shanghai Masters by defeating Daniil Medvedev on Thursday.
Sinner beat the Russian 6-1 6-4 and could now face a reunion with Carlos Alcaraz, who he lost to in the final of the China Open last week, in the semi-final.
The world number one has now won six of his last seven encounters with Medvedev.
"Obviously, I'm very happy how I handled today and this match," said Sinner.
"It felt like he had a bit of shoulder pain and couldn’t hit his forehand as well as he wished to.
"Hopefully he can recover as fast as possible, but from my side it was a great match, a great battle, and let’s see what I can do now in the semi-final."
Sinner has clocked up 63 wins on the ATP Tour this season.
Data Debrief: Master Sinner
Sinner has now made five ATP 1000 semi-finals in 2024, which is the most of any player this year.
The Italian has also become only the second player since 2020 to reach as many semi-finals in the format since Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2022.
Since the format's inception in 1990, Sinner (77.3%, 51-15) only trails three players for win percentage on hard court at ATP 1000 events: Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andre Agassi.
Gauff reels off eighth straight win to reach Wuhan quarters
Coco Gauff won an eighth successive match in emphatic fashion as she dispatched Marta Kostyuk 6-4 6-1 at the Wuhan Open.
Fresh from her triumph in Beijing last week, Gauff needed only 61 minutes to get the job done on Thursday.
Gauff, who is aiming to become only the second player to win in Beijing and Wuhan in the same year, will face Magda Linette in the quarter-finals.
"I'm really happy with how I played today," said Gauff.
"It was a pretty straightforward match. Marta and I always have some good battles. Today I was able to get through in straight sets."
Gauff's compatriot Jessica Pegula, meanwhile, was beaten by Wang Xinyu, who is the second Chinese player to reach the quarter-finals of the Wuhan Open since the inception of the tournament in 2014 after Qiang Wang in 2018.
Data Debrief: Gauff brings up 70 WTA 1000 wins
Gauff has registered her 17th win in hard-court WTA 1000 events during 2024, with only Caroline Wozniacki in 2010 (25) and Bianca Andreescu in 2019 (19) managing more wins in such events before turning 21 since 2009.
The 20-year-old is also the youngest player to hit 70 match wins since the WTA 1000 formate started in 2009. She is only the fourth player to reach that milestone before turning 23, joining Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka and Iga Swiatek.
Gauff's next opponent, Linette, is into her first WTA 1000 quarter-final.
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