Coco Gauff has set herself a target of winning at least 10 grand slam titles during her career.
The 19-year-old goes into the Australian Open as tennis’ newest major winner after lifting the trophy at the US Open last September.
Asked if she had a number in mind, Gauff said: “I would say recently I feel like I wanted to get double-digits. That’s cool.
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“I don’t know if it will happen, but I think that’s a high goal. I think setting my goals high pushes me beyond what I think I can do.”
Players often struggle in the period after a major breakthrough, but Gauff began her 2024 season by defending her title in Auckland and will be one of the favourites for success in Melbourne.
“During the off-season we did celebrate a little bit just because after the US Open everything was so fast,” said the world number four, who plays Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the first round.
“Now, going into another slam, it really feels like so long ago. Some players’ goal is to win a grand slam. Once they reach that, it’s kind of what’s next.
“For me, I always knew I wanted to win multiple. It was kind of easy to forget about it. Not ‘forget’. I think that’s the wrong word. Maybe just put it in the past and look forward to the future instead of dwelling on the past.
“I think for me the only thing I will try to remember from that slam is just the way that I won. It wasn’t my best tennis. It was more the mental fire.”
Gauff credits her success to a shift in mentality, helped by new coach Brad Gilbert, after a disappointing loss against Sofia Kenin in the opening round of Wimbledon.
“I think I put too much pressure on winning a slam,” she said. “When I went on the scene at 15, I felt like I had to win a slam as a teenager because that’s what everybody thought.
“Honestly, going into US Open, I didn’t expect it. I felt like I was having a bad season, and my focus was just get through the season and focus on the Australian Open this year.
“I think putting that mindset just relaxed me a lot. At the end of the day, the worst thing that happened to me at Wimbledon was I could lose first round. That wasn’t even that bad. Obviously it sucked. The world didn’t end. The sun still shines. I still have my friends and family.
“I realised that losing isn’t all that bad, and that I should just focus on the battle and the process and enjoy it. When it’s 5-5 in the third set, enjoy that battle instead of thinking, ‘What if I lose?’ I found myself being able to play freer and trust myself more.”
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Looking to avoid a first-round upset against former Australian Open winner Kenin this time will be top seed Iga Swiatek, who is bidding for a first title in Melbourne.
Aryna Sabalenka broke her grand slam duck here last year and went on to reach at least the semi-finals at each of the grand slams and become world number one.
The Belarusian, who will take on German teenager Ella Seidel in the first night session on Sunday, said: “I had an incredible season last year, improved a lot as a player and as a person. I did really a great pre-season. We worked a lot. I felt like we improved a lot. I feel really great and feel like I’m ready to go.”
Emma Raducanu will make her grand slam return against American Shelby Rogers at the Australian Open.
Rogers was one of the players Raducanu, who is playing her first major tournament for a year following surgery on both wrists and one ankle, beat on her way to the US Open title in 2021.
Raducanu made a positive return in Auckland last week, pushing Elina Svitolina in the second round before tiring, but alarm bells began ringing when she pulled out of first an exhibition match at Melbourne Park on Tuesday and then another exhibition at the Kooyong Classic on Thursday.
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However, Raducanu’s team insisted both were precautionary after she felt some soreness following a practice session on Monday and she practised for two hours at Melbourne Park on Thursday.
Raducanu looked relaxed and happy hitting with fellow British player Lily Miyazaki under the guidance of coach Nick Cavaday, with no strapping or obvious signs of discomfort.
Rogers is a kind draw on paper with the 31-year-old also coming off a long break having not played since Wimbledon and ranked down at 156.
All the British women avoided seeds in the first round, with Katie Boulter drawing China’s Yuan Yue and Jodie Burrage taking on German Tamara Korpatsch.
An intriguing women’s draw was headlined by top seed Iga Swiatek taking on 2020 champion Sofia Kenin, with the winner to play either another past winner in the returning Angelique Kerber or former finalist Danielle Collins.
Four-time grand slam champion Swiatek is the only one of that quartet who is yet to reach the final in Melbourne, although she will be a strong favourite to come through.
Naomi Osaka, who like Kerber is returning after having a baby, makes her grand slam comeback against 16th seed Caroline Garcia while reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka faces a qualifier.
Caroline Wozniacki’s first match in Melbourne since her retirement here in 2020 will be against 20th seed Magda Linette, with the Dane having returned to the sport last summer, reaching the fourth round of the US Open.
Andy Murray was the only British player to draw a seed, with the five-time former finalist taking on 25th-rated Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Should the Scot make the third round, he would expect to find himself up against top seed Novak Djokovic, who will open against a qualifier.
Cameron Norrie, the only British seed at 19, faces Peru’s Juan Pablo Varillas, with Jack Draper meeting American Marcos Giron and Dan Evans playing Italian Lorenzo Sonego.
Fourth seed Jannik Sinner was drawn in the top half as a potential semi-final opponent for Djokovic while Carlos Alcaraz and third seed Daniil Medvedev are in the bottom half.
Coco Gauff's emergence as arguably the biggest star of American tennis since Serena Williams is great for the women's game, says former British number one Laura Robson.
Gauff captured the imagination of the American public by winning the US Open last September, the 19-year-old fighting back to beat Aryna Sabalenka in a memorable final at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
That made the teenager the first American – male or female – to win the tournament since Williams, who won the event for the sixth time in 2014. Gauff, Williams and her sister Venus are the only American women to claim the trophy in the 21st century.
Gauff will look to back up that success at the Australian Open when the first major of the year begins on Sunday, and Robson is delighted to see her thriving after being criticised earlier in 2023.
"I love what she's done in the last three months in particular, because over the clay courts and the grass-court season, everyone was writing her off," Robson told Stats Perform.
"She just went back to the drawing board, got a new team around her, played unbelievably at the Cincinnati Masters and came into the US Open with confidence.
"You could tell, with the way that she played the longer matches, she just felt so good about her game. You could see how she was moving out there.
"She is definitely the fastest out on tour at the moment on the women's side. I'm just super pumped for her.
"To be in the stadium and to feel the energy when she won the US Open was crazy.
"I'd say 99.99 per cent of the stadium was going for her and it's going to be a huge boost for women's tennis to have an American superstar like her."
Asked whether Gauff was the natural successor to Williams – who finished her glittering career one major title shy of Margaret Court's record of 24 – Robson said other players' efforts to push American tennis forward should not be overlooked.
"I definitely feel like Jessica Pegula and Madison keys and people like that don't quite get enough credit for how much they've pushed American tennis," Robson continued.
"Even going into the US Open, Pegula was the number one American, but Coco definitely had more attention on her, which is great because their different profiles are being raised, but at the same time they were still pushing each other along and playing doubles together almost every week.
"It's just fantastic to see and the fact that there's now another name that you're throwing into the mix just makes everyone feel better."
Gauff currently sits a career-high third in the world rankings, though she has plenty of ground to make up on the top two, with Iga Swiatek currently edging out Sabalenka.
Robson expects that duo to trade places often as they battle to dominate the women's game, saying: "You definitely struggle to see Swiatek losing at Roland Garros, with the way that she goes on clay.
"I think it's going to be quite nice because they each have different strengths. You would almost say Sabalenka goes slightly better on a hard court and Iga is better on clay.
"I can see it almost swapping back and forth over the next few years, but Iga is going to be right in there, for sure."
Iga Swiatek has moved a step closer to reclaiming the world number one spot with a straight-sets victory over Aryna Sabalenka in the WTA Finals.
Swiatek, the world number two, claimed her 67th win of the year and her 10th win in a row in the 6-3 6-2 victory against the current number one Sabalenka on Sunday in Mexico.
The match, which began on Saturday, was suspended after the fourth game due to wet weather which has featured consistently throughout the tournament.
When it resumed on Sunday, Swiatek broke Sabalenka in the first game back and went on to take the win in just over 90 minutes.
“I’m really, really happy, I think that was the toughest and nicest match that I have played here,” Swiatek said after the match.
The 22-year-old from Poland went unbroken throughout the match and won more than 75 per cent of her service points.
She will meet world number five Jessica Pegula in the final on Monday for a chance to finish the year as the world number one.
It only took an hour for Pegula to beat her doubles partner and fellow American Coco Gauff on Saturday in a 6-2 6-1 win to continue her exceptional tournament form.
Both Pegula and four-time grand slam winner Swiatek have gone through the tournament undefeated with neither player dropping a single set.
World number two Iga Swiatek and world number three Coco Gauff have both secured their spots in the semi-finals of the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico.
Poland’s Swiatek confirmed her position with a 6-1 6-2 win over world number six Ons Jabeur.
Earlier, Gauff claimed a victory for US tennis fans in a battle of two of the major champions from this year.
She defeated Marketa Vondrousova 5-7 7-6 (4) 6-3 in the final round of group play on Friday night, ending the Czech player’s chances of advancing to the semi-finals.
The win was another feather in the cap for Gauff, making her the first teenager to make the final four of the year-end championships since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009.
She will now face Jessica Pegula while Swiatek takes on Aryna Sabalenka.
World number five Jessica Pegula defeated Greece’s Maria Sakkari in straight sets 6-3 6-2 in the WTA Finals, continuing her unbeaten run through the group stages.
Pegula had already secured her spot in Saturday’s semi-finals by beating both Sabalenka and Rybakina in her earlier matches in Mexico.
But the American is yet to drop a set so far this tournament and it took her just under 80 minutes to beat Sakkari, who failed to qualify for the semi-finals after losing all of her games.
Meanwhile, fighting for a spot in the semi-finals, world number one Aryna Sabalenka and world number four Elena Rybakina had their match suspended due to wet weather.
Sabalenka won the first set 6-2 in the Australian Open final rematch on a rain interrupted evening and had Rybakina on the ropes early in the second set.
But Rybakina fought back to take the lead 5-3 before the match was called off for the night, with play to resume on Friday.
Also on Friday, Iga Swiatek will take on Ons Jabeur while Coco Gauff plays Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova to decide who makes the semi-finals.
Jessica Pegula produced an impressive display in the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico, as she beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets.
Pegula broke her losing streak against the Belarusian having lost their last five meetings and the American has now won her last five games against top 10 players.
Sabalenka made 33 unforced errors, but it still took Pegula seven match points before clinching a 6-4 6-3 win and a place in the semi-finals.
After the match, Pegula said her improvement comes from feeling “more comfortable” playing top players this year.
Sabalenka will now play Elena Rybakina on Thursday night to determine the second qualifier from the group after Rybakina defeated Maria Sakkari 6-0 6-7 (4) 7-6 (2).
Rybakina started with a fury with a dominant first set but Sakkari fought her way back, winning the second set in a tiebreak.
Sakkari had two break point chances in the final set at 4-4, but Rybakina fought back and finished the tiebreak in a dominant fashion, skipping out to a 6-0 lead.
A number of players, including Sabalenka, Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova and Iga Swiatek criticised the conditions of the courts in Cancun.
For the third year in a row, the host of the prestigious tournament – which features the top eight players of the season – was decided less than two months prior to the event.
World number two Iga Swiatek beat Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-6 6-0 in her opening match at the WTA Finals in Cancun.
Vondrousova, making her debut at the WTA Finals, took an early 2-0 lead in the opening set after breaking Swiatek in the first game.
Swiatek, though, soon wiped out that advantage after forcing home a break chance of her own to level at 2-2.
In humid conditions, both players were feeling the pressure on serve as another untidy background return from the baseline by the Pole allowed Vondrousova to immediately break again.
The Wimbledon champion maintained the pressure to break Swiatek in the seventh game, the Pole this time sending a return into the net.
Following the change of ends, Swiatek made the most of the new balls to prevent Vondrousova serving out the set and then produced a solid hold to reduce the deficit at 5-4.
Vondrousova’s early momentum had gone as Swiatek stepped up her offensive play to claim another break and level the opening set.
Swiatek, who can end the year by regaining the world number one spot, took the first set on a tie break and waltzed through the second in just over half an hour.
Monday’s other match saw US Open champion Coco Gauff need less than an hour to beat Ons Jabeur 6-0 6-1.
Gauff won the first seven games before an hour-long rain delay, Jabeur finally getting on the board after the restart before the American completed the win in 57 minutes
On Sunday, world number one Aryna Sabalenka opened the finals with a straightforward win over Maria Sakkari.
Sabalenka later took to social media to criticise the arrangements for players at the season-ending championships, with Cancun only announced as the host venue less than two months ago.
Swiatek added her criticism to the court – laid on top of a golf course – saying “it’s not comfortable” while Vondrousova described it as “very bad”.
Sabalenka faces Jessica Pegula, who also won her opening group match, on Tuesday night with Sakkari facing Elena Rybakina.
Aryna Sabalenka flexed her muscles as the incoming world number one by beating Chinese youngster Zheng Qinwen to reach the US Open semi-finals.
The second seed from Belarus will take over from Iga Swiatek at the top of the rankings on Monday, ending the Pole’s 75-week reign.
She cruised into the last four at Flushing Meadows for the third straight year with a commanding 6-1 6-4 victory in an hour and 13 minutes.
Zheng, 20, playing in her first grand slam quarter-final, won just four of the first 24 points of the match as Sabalenka raced into a 5-0 lead.
She stopped the bleeding by holding serve in the sixth game, but Sabalenka wrapped up the first set in only 27 minutes.
Zheng, seeded 23, restored some pride in the second but a break in the seventh game ensured Sabalenka became the first woman to reach the semi-finals of all four grand slams in the same year since Serena Williams in 2016.
The 25-year-old has dropped just 21 games in the 10 sets she has played over five rounds in New York.
She said: “I definitely played great tennis. I’m super happy with the performance tonight and to give myself a chance to do better in the semis.
“I’m going to do everything I can to stay until the end.”
Ons Jabeur is through to a second consecutive Wimbledon final after coming from a set down to beat Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka.
The Tunisian sixth seed, last year’s runner-up, won 6-7 (5) 6-4 6-3 to the delight of the Centre Court crowd, and likely to the relief of the All England Club and Buckingham Palace.
Sabalenka, banned from Wimbledon last year over the role of Belarus in the war in Ukraine, was a point from going a set and 5-3 up.
But Jabeur’s rousing comeback spared Wimbledon chiefs the uncomfortable situation of the Princess of Wales handing a trophy to, and shaking hands with, a player from Russia’s allied nation Belarus in the women’s final.
Instead of a politically-charged clash between Sabalenka and Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, Centre Court will host Jabeur against Czech Marketa Vondrousova on Saturday.
Jabeur was devastated after losing to Elina Rybakina in last year’s final, but believes she is a different player 12 months on.
She said: “I’m working a lot with my mental coach who’s been helping me a lot and I might be writing a book about it.
“I’m very proud of me, the old me maybe would have lost that match but I’m glad I kept digging deep and finding the strength.
“I’m learning to transform bad energy into good energy. After the anger of the first set I just tried to stay focused. I’m accepting it, digging deep to go and win this match, and hopefully this tournament.”
Jabeur led the first-set tie-break but dumped a backhand into the net and then sent a forehand long as Sabalenka forged ahead.
She seemed set to capitulate at 2-2 in the second, slipping to 0-40 before a double fault put Sabalenka in control.
But Sabalenka tightened up horribly and a double-fault gave Jabeur break point which she converted for 4-4.
With the Centre Court crowd right behind her, Jabeur somehow saved a break point by staying in a ridiculous rally until Sabalenka smashed a forehand wide, and then levelled the match with an unstoppable return on to the baseline.
The 28-year-old piled the pressure on the Sabalenka serve and won a nerve-jangling game with a third break point to go 4-2 up in the decider.
Sabalenka saved two match points on serve but Jabeur finished the job behind her own with an ace before raising her arms in triumph.
Aryna Sabalenka knows just what to expect from Ons Jabeur in Thursday’s Wimbledon semi-final after she endured some gruelling pre-tournament practice sessions with the Tunisian.
The Belarusian, who was banned from last year’s tournament, is making up for lost time and booked her second last-four appearance in SW19 with a demolition of Madison Keys, winning Wednesday’s quarter-final 6-2 6-4.
Sabalenka is not surprised to see Jabeur on the other side of the net for the semi-final as she experienced first hand just how well she is playing in the build-up to the tournament.
“Actually we practised here before Wimbledon,” Sabalenka revealed. “I felt like she was going to do well here because she played unbelievable tennis on the practice court.
“I know it’s different in practice than in a match. She was able to bring this level to matches.
“It’s not like I didn’t expect that. Yeah, she’s a great player. We always had tough battles against each other, very close matches. I am really looking forward to this great battle.”
With Iga Swiatek being knocked out on Tuesday she will now have her sights on the Venus Rosewater dish to follow her Australian Open success at the start of the year.
Indeed, her eyes will have lit up when Swiatek was beaten by Elina Svitolina as it means she is now just one win away from ending the Pole’s 66-week reign as world number one.
Asked which she would value more, the Wimbledon title or to sit at the top of the rankings, the 25-year-old was willing to be greedy.
“To be honest, I want both,” she said. “But I’m trying to focus on myself because I know if I start thinking about all this stuff, I’m going to lose my focus on the court, my game.
“So I’m trying to focus on myself right now and make sure that every time I’m on the court I bring my best tennis.
“Then later on we’ll see if I’m ready to become world number one or if I’m ready to play another final.
“I remember myself, I don’t know, 14 or 15 years old going to my practice with the headphones listening to music and dreaming becoming one of the best players in the world, dreaming about lifting this beautiful trophiy.
“That’s something unbelievable. That’s something what really motivates me a lot, that I was able to become one of the best. I’m competing on the high level. So that’s something big for me.
“I’m going to do everything I can to lift this beautiful trophy.”
Aryna Sabalenka’s pursuit of a first Wimbledon title remains on course after her demolition of Madison Keys in the quarter-final.
The Belarusian, who was banned from last year’s tournament, is making up for lost time and was too strong for Keys on Court One, winning 6-2 6-4.
With Iga Swiatek being knocked out on Tuesday she will now have her sights on the Venus Rosewater dish after booking a second semi-final appearance in SW19.
Her eyes will have lit up when Swiatek was beaten by Elina Svitolina as it means she is now just one win away from ending the Pole’s 66-week reign as world number one.
There is no one left in the tournament who can match her brute force from the back of the court and her big-match experience, having won the Australian Open in January, will stand her in good stead to win two more matches.
She said: “It feels really amazing to be back in the semi-final, I can’t wait to play my second semi-final at Wimbledon and hopefully I can do better than last time.
“It was a really tough game, I was so happy to win the second set, that game at 2-4 0-40 was just incredible.
“Since I was little I was dreaming about the Wimbledon title, it is something special, Wimbledon is different, it’s more special. It doesn’t matter who I am going to play, it is going to be a tough battle.”
When she found herself in trouble at 2-4 and 0-40 down in the second set, she reeled off 12 successive points to put herself back in control.
Keys, who won in Eastbourne in the week before the tournament began, was enjoying her best run here since 2015, but she was on the end of a barrage from Sabalenka and could have regrets about not taking her chances when they came, specifically that game to go 5-2 up in the second.
Sabalenka was on the attack from the start and broke Keys in the opening service game thanks to a sliced winner down the line.
A second break followed as Sabalenka was in total control, until Keys began to find her range and forced break points as her opponent tried to serve the first set out.
Sabalenka saved them to go in front and then put pressure on Keys’ serve earlier on as the American was forced to navigate some difficult deuce games.
She did so and then looked to have turned the tide, breaking at 3-2 with some power hitting of her own before going 40-0 up and within a point of 5-2.
But Sabalenka activated beast mode and won 12 consecutive points on her way to three successive games to put herself back in firm control.
She then served it out to seal a memorable win and move one step closer to her Wimbledon dream.
Aryna Sabalenka acknowledged there would only be a “little celebration” for making the second week at Wimbledon this time with her eyes firmly set on another grand slam title.
Australian Open champion Sabalenka marched into the fourth round at the All England Club on Saturday with a routine 6-2 6-3 victory over Moscow-born Anna Blinkova, hitting 30 winners in an 81-minute breeze on Court One.
Second seed Sabalenka is at the top of her game having made it to at least the semi-final stage of her last three grand slams, but it was at Wimbledon two summers ago where she made her big breakthrough at a major.
A run to the last four for the current world number two in 2021 was the first time she made the second week at a grand slam and the Belarusian has not looked back since and is focused on lasting the distance on grass this time.
“Yeah, I have really great memories from here. It was my first breakthrough,” Sabalenka said, having missed last year’s tournament due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian players competing due to the war in Ukraine.
“I was very happy two years ago to be able to get to the second week. Yeah, since that I kind of had more belief in myself in the grand slams.
“I don’t think anymore about the second week of the grand slam, you know? I kind of felt a little relief after that breakthrough.
“I’m still happy. It’s still a little celebration because of making the second week, but the goal is to go as far as I can. I’m trying to stay focused.”
Back-to-back aces booked Sabalenka her place in the last-16, after surviving an entertaining 14-minute seventh game of the second set to hold.
The 25-year-old will face another Russian next after Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 21st seed, was the first female winner on day six with a 6-0 6-4 victory over Dalma Galfi on Court 18.
Last year’s Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur survived a scare and a lengthy stoppage due to a wet Centre Court surface to progress into the fourth round with a battling 3-6 6-3 6-4 win over Bianca Andreescu.
After Jabeur hit back from losing the first set to level, the Tunisian found herself 3-1 down in the decider, but crucially broke back against the former US Open winner before heavy rain arrived at 7.36pm.
With the Centre Court roof open, the grass surface briefly took a hammering of rain and a 50-minute delay occurred while it was left to dry.
But once play resumed, Jabeur showed her mettle on her first return to the venue since last year’s final.
Two break points were held by the world number six in her first service game after the resumption before she broke to love in the ninth game and sealed her place in round four with an ace.
“I felt like I didn’t play my best today, I wanted to be more aggressive and play my game but I am playing against a grand slam champion,” Jabeur said before admitting to almost asking spectator Billie Jean King for advice mid-match.
“You have to do what you do and Billie was watching so I was going to ask her what should I do. I swear I was going to turn to her.
“Very emotional coming back here after a great final last year. It is one of, if not my favourite court. I love the grass, love the energy and hopefully I can come back and play more matches here.”
The wet weather disrupted some of the early play on Saturday but Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia beat the rain to down Sorana Cirstea 6-2 6-2 on Court Three before a suspension meant there was no time for an on-court interview.
When play did resume in SW19, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova finished the run of qualifier Natalija Stevanovic in straight sets.
Madison Keys, who won the Rothesay International in Eastbourne last week, continued her fine form with a 6-4 6-1 victory over Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.
Aryna Sabalenka admits she was left in tears having to watch Wimbledon last year during a ban on Russian and Belarusian players, but holds no expectations as she heads back to the All England Club.
Following last year’s ban due to the illegal invasion of Ukraine, Russian and Belarussian players will be able to play in next week’s showpiece tournament after Wimbledon organisers were heavily fined and threatened with further sanctions by tennis’ governing bodies.
Women’s number two Sabalenka will find herself in the spotlight once again, having opted out of some media obligations at the French Open citing mental health and well-being concerns following some terse exchanges with journalists.
Sabalenka made it clear ahead of a pre-tournament press conference held at Wimbledon on Saturday afternoon that she had no intentions of addressing the issues once again.
“Before we continue I would like to say I’m not going to talk about politics. I’m here to talk about tennis only. Please respect that,” Sabalenka said.
“If you have any kind of political questions, you can ask WTA or the tournament. They can send you the transcript of my answers from the previous tournaments.”
Sabalenka added: “It’s my personal decision.”
The world number two recalled how last year’s ban had been tough to endure.
“I was at home having a little vacation, then practicing, but, no, I didn’t watch Wimbledon a lot,” she said.
“I felt so bad and I just couldn’t watch it. Every time if Wimbledon would be on TV, I would cry, so I decided just to stay away from Wimbledon last year.
“I am always telling myself that the best I can do is focus on things I have control on. That is really helping a lot to not think about anything else on the tennis.”
Having enjoyed a run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2021, Sabalenka is hoping for another deep run in the tournament, which starts against Hungarian Panna Udvardy on Tuesday.
“I’m super emotional right now. I’m super happy to be back. I really miss this place,” she said.
“When I got here first time, I was just like enjoying (it). I couldn’t believe that I’m here.
“I’m feeling good. I don’t have any kind of expectations. The only one expectation I have is just to bring my best tennis every time I’m on the court, and hopefully I’ll do it.
“I only have hope that they (Wimbledon crowd) will support me as they did last year – hopefully.”
Sabalenka won her first Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January, but suffered a disappointing defeat to unseeded Czech Karolina Muchova in the semi-finals at Roland Garros.
“That was really tough, tough end of the tournament,” said Sabalenka, who only made it to the second round in Berlin.
“I was really disappointed with that loss, but then we spoke with my team. It was a good lesson for me.
“I just had few days off, and then start my preparation for the grass season.”
Elina Svitolina will take on Aryna Sabalenka in the French Open quarter-finals after continuing her brilliant return to grand slam tennis by beating Daria Kasatkina.
Svitolina will be the second Ukrainian opponent faced by Belarusian Sabalenka, who recovered from losing a 5-0 lead in the first set to beat Sloane Stephens 7-6 (5) 6-4 in the first night session women’s match.
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz continued their march towards a probable semi-final meeting with identical 6-3 6-2 6-2 victories – Djokovic over Juan Pablo Varillas and Alcaraz against Lorenzo Musetti.
Picture of the dayTweet of the day
Djokovic had some help warming up for his match from his eight-year-old son Stefan.
Stat of the dayGreat Danes
The past and the present of Danish tennis met at Roland Garros on Sunday. Caroline Wozniacki is now a mother of two and is playing in a slam legends event for the first time.
Fallen seeds
Men: Lorenzo Musetti (17)
Women: Daria Kasatkina (9), Elise Mertens (28)
Who’s up next?
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Victories for Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff on Monday would set up a rematch of last year’s final.
Swiatek takes on Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko, who will be looking to join Svitolina in the last eight, while Gauff meets Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.
In the men’s event, fourth seed Casper Ruud meets Nicolas Jarry and sixth seed Holger Rune plays Francisco Cerundolo, while Alexander Zverev features in the night session again, this time up against Grigor Dimitrov.
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