"I'm trying to be a bit smarter with my tennis" - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova after setting Olympic record with 3R win over Sara Sorribes Tormo
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova's win over Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo on Tuesday moved the Russian one step closer to her first-ever medal at the Olympics.
The routine 6-1, 6-3 victory, however, has a bigger story to tell. Pavlyuchenkova's sublime run in Tokyo, which has seen her beat Sara Errani, Anna-Lena Friedsam and Sorribes Tormo, is the most dominant across three rounds of the Olympics in the competition's history.
The Russian has only dropped seven games in three matches, the fewest by any player en route to the quarterfinals of the quadrennial competition since 1988, according to the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
Pavlyuchenkova downplayed the achievement in her post-match conference, saying she was just trying to avoid staying out on court for too long in the humid Tokyo weather. Pavlyuchenkova added that she was looking to play "smart" tennis as it was tough to maintain optimum energy levels throughout the contest.
"I was getting a little tired," admitted Pavlyuchenkova. "The weather’s getting hot again, so I tactically tried to play smart and make the rallies shorter as well."
"With these conditions it’s very tough to play every single point at 100%, which I usually do, but here it takes a lot of energy out of me, so I’m trying to be a bit smarter with that," she added.
The 30-year-old will face a familiar foe in the shape of Switzerland's Belinda Bencic in the quarterfinals. When asked about the prospect of playing someone who has beaten her on four previous occasions, Pavlyuchenkova said her only focus was on her own game.
"I don’t focus on the names. I don’t focus on the rankings," she said. "I just take it match by match. It’s going to be another new match. All I focus on is myself. I want to feel good. I want to play good tennis, fight and do the best I can to win."
"I’m excited to play with Rublev" - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on her mixed doubles partnership
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova will be looking to replicate her singles success on the doubles court. The 30-year-old has signed up to play in the mixed doubles discipline, where she will partner Andrey Rublev.
Describing Rublev as an "amazing player," Pavlyuchenkova said she was excited at the prospect of partnering the 23-year-old Russian in Tokyo.
"We practiced mixed once here – and it was a good one, I think, on the practice court, but let’s see,” Pavlyuchenkova said. “I’m excited to play with him. He’s an amazing player so it’s a good and fun challenge I think."
Rublev and Pavlyuchenkova have been seeded fourth in the mixed doubles draw. They open their campaign against Croatia's Ivan Dodig and Darija Jurak.
The Russian pair have a relatively easy path until the semifinals, where they could run into second seeds Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas.