WATCH: Aryna Sabalenka shows off her dance moves to celebrate thrilling French Open 2R win
Aryna Sabalenka was over the moon after she eased into the third round of the French Open 2024 women’s singles. On Thursday (May 30), the World No. 2 defeated Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima 6-2, 6-2 at Philippe-Chatrier. It took the Belarusian only an hour and two minutes to ease past her opponent in the second round.
After winning the match, Sabalenka was all smiles and showed off her dance moves as she walked down the stairs. Roland Garros uploaded the video with the caption:
“Keep the tradition going.”
Sabalenka, who came into the clay-court major after finishing as the runners-up in Madrid and Rome, earned four breaks of serve, which made the difference in the match. Uchijima got four chances to break her opponent’s service, but could not succeed even once. Sabalenka was impressive with her first and second serves, winning 76 and 72 percent of points from them.
Uchijima looked out of sorts as she made three double faults and won only 36 percent of points from her second serves. Sabalenka closed the match out with a powerful forehand down the line. Sabalenka said that she was delighted with how she played. In an on-court interview after the match, she said,
“I am super happy with the performance today. Thank you for the atmosphere. It was really incredible playing in front of you all. It is probably fun for you guys watching me. I am not sure it is for my team. They probably get tight every time I go for a drop shot,” Sabalenka said.
Netflix and hot tea for Aryna Sabalenka
It has been raining cats and dogs in Paris over the last couple of days, due to which matches are being suspended. Speaking during the on-court interview after the match, Sabalenka said that rather than staying outside, she would prefer staying in her hotel room, watching Netflix with a hot cup of tea.
“It is not the best weather. I feel like going back to the hotel, blanket, hot tea and watch Netflix… that’s the mood,” Sabalenka said.
In the third round, Sabalenka will be up against Spain’s Paula Badosa with whom she shares a healthy camaraderie. The duo last met in the Stuttgart Open earlier this year where Sabalenka won after Badosa retired with the scoreline at 7-6 (4), 4-6, 3-3.
They also met in Miami where the World No. 2 beat Badosa 6-4, 6-3. Overall, Sabalenka has a 4-2 lead over Badosa since their first meeting back in the 2021 Cincinnati Open.