Seoul Gazette - I'm a different person says calmer Sabalenka

Sabalenka added Miami to the title she won at Brisbane by beating American Jessica Pegula 7-5 6-2 at Hard Rock Stadium.

The Belarussian has also featured in the finals at the Australian Open and Indian Wells but showed her increasing maturity by handling a roller-coaster first set where she was broken three times by Pegula.

In the past, Sabalenka would react to a break of serve or moments of frustration with anger and sometimes loud displays of her annoyance with herself.

But there was no sign of such loss of cool against Pegula, and she said that was a result of the realisation that there was more to her game than her big serve.

"I struggled a lot in the past with a lot of different things, I went through really tough challenges, and I was struggling with my serve so much," said the 26-year-old.

"I couldn't serve for a while, so I had to play without the serve, and I think that was the moment when I realised that I actually have another weapons in my game, so I can actually win the match even if my serve is not working," she said.

But there was also a conscious decision to cut out the antics when the game was in difficult moments.

"One day, I just decided, OK, whatever happens on the court, I'm not gonna show my emotions. I went through a lot, and there is much more difficult stuff in life than just any smash, so I was like, OK, whatever happens, I'm not gonna show any emotions. I'm done with that," she said.

"I don't wanna be that kid who's like, keeps getting frustrated and losing the matches. And it worked really well. I think it was the first year when I won Australia Open (2023) that I just realised a lot of things, and since then, I'm a different person, a different player, and (stronger) in the mental part of the game. It was a huge improvement," she said.

Sabalenka said she would celebrate her victory with her team in Miami, where she keeps a residence, before turning her thoughts towards the clay season.

Her three grand slam wins have all come on hard courts and her best performance at Roland Garros was a run to the semi-finals in 2023.

She believes that she is now in a great position to make an impact on clay.

"I think physically I'm ready to go. Physically I'm strong, and I'm not rushing the point and I know I can stay in the point for how long I need," she said.

"I think that's the key, because I think I have got everything to be a good player on the clay court. I haven't talked to my team. But I can assume we're going to focus on my fitness," she said.

P.Hwang--SG