"I cannot obsess over beating Iga Swiatek" - Aryna Sabalenka on toppling the defending champion at French Open 2024 after 2 successive defeats
Aryna Sabalenka refuted the idea of thinking about revenge in her potential face-off against Iga Swiatek at the 2024 French Open. The Belarusian wants to focus on making herself a better tennis player, which will help her get a result against the Pole.
Sabalenka and Swiatek have created an extraordinary rivalry. The pair have met in five WTA tournament finals and have been in the running to win whichever tournament they have participated in in the past few years. They have also won five out of the last eight Grand Slams.
Recently, they showed another sign of their superiority by reaching the finals of both the Madrid Open and the Italian Open. It was the first time since 2000 that a WTA Top 2 faced each other twice in two weeks. However, Swiatek laid claim to both the trophies.
At the upcoming French Open, Swiatek and Sabalenka can potentially meet again in the final. During the media day, the Belarusian was asked about her potential revenge against Swiatek in Paris.
"If I have one thing clear, it is that I cannot obsess over beating Iga, but rather I must focus on myself and everything I must do to be a better tennis player. If I manage to do that, I know that I will have opportunities to prove myself against her here," Sabalenka said (via Punto de Break).
"I know, she has achieved impressive things in this tournament, but I love difficult challenges. It motivates me especially and gives me great energy to fight for goals as complicated as beating Iga in this event," she added.
Aryna Sabalenka on her rivalry against Iga Swiatek: "The duel we are creating is fantastic"
Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka have met each other 11 times, and the Pole leads the head-to-head record 8-3. The Belarusian player respects their rivalry but believes World No. 3 Coco Gauff and World No. 4 Elena Rybakina are also ably fighting for the same goals.
"The duel we are creating is fantastic, but we are not alone since Cori and Elena also fight for the maximum goals. Rivalries like this help me to be better every day and give me extra motivation. I hope we continue to find each other in the last rounds of big tournaments," Sabalenka said during the French Open media day.
The French Open draw took place on Thursday (May 23) and it was revealed that defending champion Iga Swiatek will face a qualifier/lucky loser in the first round, whereas Aryna Sabalenka will begin her campaign against Mirra Andreeva's sister Erika.