The top seed sealed the victory with 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. After the match, Sabalenka talked about the limits the fourth seed had pushed her to.
“Well, I know that she’s a fighter. I know that she’s going to fight for every opportunity. I made that. She played incredible, but I made a couple of unforced errors in the last game, and I gave her a set, but I was really mentally strong in my head. I knew that I was doing everything right. It was just a matter of few points, and I always keep telling myself, just stay focused, try to do better in the next time. That was the mentality, going to the third set.” Sabalenka said in the on-court interview.
The tribute was genuine. Sabalenka and Gauff have faced each other enough times, played for the 13th time in their career. Their H2H stands at 7-6 in the top seed’s favor, and after these many matches, the top seed knew that there’s never a moment of rest till the last shot is played.
There was a melting point in the first set, where Sabalenka had gotten frustrated due to the loud cheering from Gauff’s player box. She addressed this moment in the interview and answered with characteristic honesty.
“Yeah, I got a little bit straight at that one moment. Definitely not proud I yelled, but I’m like, Come on, you cannot do that. But anyway, I had a lot of support here as well. I feel like local here, and I knew what to expect the women into this match, and I really enjoyed it. Even though they were cheering for her, I felt like they were cheering for a great tennis, and I felt the respect, and I’m really grateful for the vibes,” she added.
Even though the crowd was against her, she took the atmosphere in a generous way. It was a gracious reflection from the four-time Grand Slam champion, who has only lost one match this year.
