"No reason why she can't win more Grand Slams" - Mary Joe Fernandez believes 'doors have opened' for Aryna Sabalenka with Australian Open title
Reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka is on course to become a multiple Grand Slam champion, believes former World No. 4 Mary Joe Fernandez.
Fernandez highlighted that Sabalenka now has a more complete overall game. She also believes Sabalenka was relieved of a lot of stress by winning her maiden Grand Slam title, which sets her up for more success at the Majors going forward.
The Belarusian was at her dominant best at the Australian Open last month, dropping only one set en route to the title. Sabalenka reached the final without dropping a set before winning the summit clash against Elena Rybakina in three sets.
Fernandez believes that winning the title in Melbourne as opposed to finishing as the runner-up has de-stressed Sabalenka and opened the doors for more success. The two-time Olympic doubles gold medalist pointed out that the World No. 2's reinvented serve, power-packed groundstrokes and strong net game will hold her in good stead in the future.
"If she (Aryna Sabalenka) could get through and win this Australian Open, I feel like she's now going to win a lot more," Mary Joe Fernandez said during a chat with Patrick McEnroe on the 'Holding Court with Patrick McEnroe' podcast.
"The doors have now opened for her, the stress is gone, the pressure she used to put on herself. With her kind of game, the power she has, she's not bad at the net, and now with her serve under control, there's no reason why she can't win more Grand Slams."
Fernandez also hailed Sabalenka's 'new attitude' throughout the Australian Open. This was reflected in her ability to stay calm and focused on the job at hand when she was playing well and also when she was under pressure from her opponents.
"Here she is with a new attitude, much more positive. To me, it was incredible, she only lost that one set in the final," Fernandez said.
"The emotions, the way that she now composes herself and doesn’t get too ahead of herself when things are going well or too down when things aren't going well, it was really impressive."
The brightest example of Aryna Sabalenka's composure under pressure was in the final against reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. The Belarusian won the match from a set down against the highly in-form Kazakh player.
"I don't think we've given her enough credit" - Mary Joe Fernandez on Aryna Sabalenka's comeback from a tough phase
Mary Joe Fernandez feels Aryna Sabalenka deserves even more credit than she gets for starting the 2023 season with an incredible run of form and winning the first Grand Slam of the year. She has accomplished this after enduring a challenging couple of seasons.
The 1991 Australian Open women's doubles champion particularly reflected on Sabalenka's serious difficulties while serving last season. Fernandez then praised her for playing through the tough phase and coming up trumps when many advised her to take a break.
"I don't think we've given her enough credit. I'm still shaking my head because, seriously, a year ago, she was averaging 15-16 double faults per match," Fernandez explained.
"We were all thinking that she should take some time off, regroup, figure out the serve, the yips. She didn't do that, she actually played through it, won matches despite those double faults. Somehow, in the summer she started figuring it out."
Aryna Sabalenka is on a 11-match winning streak in 2023, having also clinched the Adelaide 1 title in the build-up to the Australian Open. The World No. 2 is set to play in this week's Dubai Tennis Championships.
She will open her campaign on Tuesday, February 21, with a Round of 32 contest against either Jil Teichmann or Anastasia Potapova.